


Super Mario Apocalypse

by zhaich



Category: Donkey Kong (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Mario Bros., Warioware
Genre: Gen, General fiction, Literature, fan fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-02-28 13:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 60
Words: 405,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2734736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhaich/pseuds/zhaich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an older Iggy Koopa is given an ancient manuscript to decipher, he suddenly finds himself in a world of intrigue and deception, and realizes that the world is set upon a course of destiny that will change the lives of all who live upon it, and their children forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains many Mario characters, but is primarily focused upon the Koopalings. This story is in many ways a reflection of what is currently happening in reality (and may possibly happen in the future). This includes climate change, erratic weather, earthquakes, flooding and so forth. Just look up Youtube and see the wacky weather that's been happening all over the world, not to mention the increasing food prices, lack of jobs, increasing selfishness and desperation. This story is my personal message in regards to that. 
> 
> There are a few sources that I would like to give credit to that also serve as my inspiration. These include ZetaTalk, Immanuel Velikovsky, Zecharia Sitchin, Erich von Daniken and a number of authors dedicated to esoteric study. Separating the wheat from the chaff, or the truth from the lies one arrives at a stranger picture of reality then one would imagine. Again, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story.

Since the simple days of the kidnappings of Princess Peach and the Mario Bros. coming to her rescue, things have changed quite dramatically. The continued contact with Earth has caused a radical transformation in the technology that was available during those times. Once primarily a medieval culture with pikes, full mail armor and bullet bill cannons, now a culture highly sophisticated and capable of space flight all within a span of a little more than 20 years. It is quite amazing how far every kingdom upon the Mushroom World has progressed, save for the Yoshi isles, a culture more preferable to traditional practices and the old ways of life.

But most of the rest of the world has moved on from those days. Modern technology like cars, planes and especially the internet has managed to snake its way across the world, forever changing the lives of each of its inhabitants. Perhaps the kingdom most changed by this technology was the Koopa Kingdom, only recently re-dubbed as the Koopa Empire. This Empire's transformation was primarily in part due to not only Bowser's willing desires to make this happen, but mostly due to his 7 children, the "Koopalings" as they are often called. 

As Iggy Koopa walked down one of the numerous hallways of Koopa Castle, he reflected back on the years of growth and death the Empire had in endure in order to arrive at its current state. Mostly, he was responsible for much of the bioengineering that has taken place to many of the Empire's troops and for developing radical new medicines to cure many ailments and injuries. He developed and hosted a number of things that would take hours to even write down on a pad of paper on in a Koopasoft Word document. But today was the kind of day when an important event takes precedence and all the major accomplishments of the past once again come back to the light. 

Iggy was mostly thinking about how he played a large part in the redesigning of Koopa Castle. In many ways, it was so large that it could be termed a monstrosity in its own right. He was part of the castle planning commission along with his oldest sibling Ludwig Von Koopa and a host of other Koopa engineers from across the land. The task had been to build the grandest and most powerful castle that had even been constructed in the history of that race. Any reason or intention for such a power Iggy never understood beyond the boundless ego of his father, the so-called omnipotent King Bowser Koopa, but despite that he was very proud of his part. For the castle itself sprawled up over 50 floors into the sky, making it the largest and by far the tallest structure of its time. Iggy played a large part in engineering the structural capacity and the overall layout of the major industrial components, such as the insulation, piping, wiring and such. But the greatest parts of the new Koopa Castle, only recently 100% completed, were its 9 sprawling towers that rose up to 1,700 ft into the air. These immense structures were built for each of the Koopalings, including King Bowser's latest edition to the family, Bowser Jr. 8 towers were all placed in circular formation around the leading circumference of the castle, which was square by its own merits. The 9th tower, exclusively made for King Bowser himself, was placed in the center and was the largest and tallest of them all, climbing to a magnificent height of 2,350 ft into the air. It should be told that little news of the activities in that tower come into public notice, let alone to any of his offspring, and so it should be for many would not want to know. 

Iggy Koopa certainly did not want to know. And yet as he walked past the countless windows that flanked him to his left, he could only wonder of the strange and odd activities that his majesty has been going through lately. Ever since the Koopalings got older (into their late teens and early 20's) and their responsibilities have increased, King Bowser seemed to have changed himself. The weekly dinners, where the entirety of the family would sit down at the same table for dinner to talk and discuss their latest activities, were being canceled recently, first with seemingly good intentions but later with ridiculous and hard to believe statements. The phrase "I'm out trying to capture Peach again" has now been used far too many times to hold any more merit, and there had been no recent sightings of Peach within the castle walls themselves. Normally, Bowser would announce her arrival to his family, but that has not happened lately and more than a few people were beginning to suspect that he was not announcing this on purpose. 

For what intention, Iggy did not know. All he knew was that the great move was today. Since the castle and its towers were completed, all of the Koopalings were permitted to move their belongings and personal possessions into their newly created towers. As a result, throughout most of the levels, there was a great coming and going with Koopa Troopas hauling great carts of goods and suitcases, anxiously wanting to hit the next elevator stop. Combining the so-called strategic planning of his siblings into one corrugated mess was the inevitable result and after having a taste of this earlier, Iggy decided to rest his worries about his chemistry equipment and try to enjoy what he helped create. 

He rounded a corner and continued his rather slow pace, buried deeply within his thoughts. But he still noticed the smell of newly dried cement, a smell that seemed to permeate throughout the castle. It kept him at least somewhat focused on his material objectives, despite the fact that he wanted to simply unpack all of his belongings and get all of this over with. It had been a long time coming, and now Iggy was ready to throw in the towel and take a long rest. 

He looked down through the windows to left and saw the endless caravans of Koopa Troopa's marching across the many castle precipices many floors below. Many of them didn't work for more than 10 coins a day and Iggy wondered how Bowser ever managed to not only create such a concept with overwhelming approval, but how he managed to maintain such a concept without open scorn. It was well known in the inner circles that King Bowser very much disproved his 4th son Prince Iggy and neither tended to cooperate in most matters. Therefore, Iggy decided to just leave it as an afterthought, as he knew that he wouldn't be the one who would reform that system. 

At length, there were a few shouts heard far below. Iggy looked and saw that he had been spotted. Well, considering his bright green mohawk and prominent round glasses, he shouldn't have been too terribly hard to spot in the first place. Returning back to reality for a moment, he promptly moved away from the window and continued on his trek towards his tower. He had enough publicity for one day. 

Eventually, he reached the entrance to his tower and breathed a sigh of relief. His moment of relaxation did not last long however as he remembered he needed to pick up ancient Koopa manuscripts that were found in the Mushroom Kingdom recently. Being an obsessed archeologist in his free time, he knew he could not pass up a find such as this. A find like this usually came from one of the time periods when the Koopa Kingdom spread the globe.  
 

* * *

Meanwhile, in a green field, 2 mushrooms sat next to a warp pipe.  
   
“What’s taking him so long, Toad?” asked one officer, straightening his uniform.  
   
“I don’t know,” Toad said lethargically, “All I know is that Bowser is remodeling his Keep for the hundredth millionth time, so his minions are probably working overtime.”  
   
“And why didn’t we just keep these things anyway?” the officer asked, eyeing the pile of manuscripts. “Who knows? Maybe we could use them against Bowser someday!”  
   
“We have orders from high up to turn these over to Bowser as soon as possible. Besides, we can barely decipher what the Mario they’re saying!”  
   
The officer simply furrowed his eyebrows but said nothing else.  
   
Moments later, Iggy emerged from the warp pipe and looked around, but saw nothing but green grass in every direction. “Mushrooms are always late,” he mumbled, scratching his head.  
   
“No no, you’re the one who’s late!” came a voice, and Iggy looked down to find two mushrooms staring back at him. “Hey wait a minute, you look familiar! But I can’t put my finger on it…”  
   
“Iggy Koopa,” Iggy proclaimed, adjusting his glasses.  
   
Toad still looked confused. Then his face brightened up suddenly. “Oh yeah, you’re that Koopa who took over…what was that place…Giant Land!”  
   
Iggy thought for a second. “Oh yeah, Giant Land. That was almost 20 years ago, Toad. But anyway,” he said, getting impatient, “The manuscripts.”  
   
“Yeah yeah,” he muttered as the officer handed them over to Iggy. “We really don’t know what it’s about, other than the spheres representing-“ The officer elbowed him in the stomach before he could finish. Iggy watched on with confusion as he heard rapid whispering, but he could only make out the word “protocol.” 

“Well anyways,” Toad began again, “Hopefully you’ll be able to decipher them.”  
   
Iggy adjusted his glasses again. “We’ll see.” He commented as he went back into the Warp pipe.  
   
   
“What was that for?” Toad shouted.  
   
“Standard protocol, sir.” Remarked the officer casually. They walked towards a bush, which contained a warp pipe. “I was ordered to…protect you.”  
   
“I can protect my self, you know.” Toad was clearly getting angrier. The officer put a hand into his pocket.  
   
“Evidently, you cannot. Fortunately, the system was designed to protect you.” With that, the officer jumped into a warp pipe before Toad could complain. Toad shook his head as he looked back at the warp pipe they were waiting at just a few moments ago. “It wasn’t THAT bad-“  
   
He closed his eyes for a moment to think about what just happened.  
   
“Not-a good enough-a.”  
   
His eyes shot straight open to suddenly find himself within a high class restaurant, showered with sunlight from high-rise windows that overlooked the greater part of Mushroom City. Toad’s gaze eventually made their way to the occupant of the chair opposite of him, who donned blue overalls, a red shirt and a hat of the same color.  
   
“Mario-“  
   
“Toad, listen,” began Mario, putting his fork of Linguini down. “We all-a have a job to do-a. We all-a have our personal desires-a in this-a world. But you already have-a world where everything can-a come true. All of-a your wildest dreams-a are fulfilled, everyone-a getting what they-a want-a, and yet,” Mario paused as he slurped up his linguini. Toad put his head in his hand. “You-a always break the rules. And I’m-a sure you know the penalty for-a breaking the rules-a. I’ve been-a nice to you, Toad. You’re-a one of my best friends, which is-a why I’ve been letting you-a go. But I cannot-a keep doing this-a forever.” Mario paused again as he took another loud slurp of linguini. “Tell me, why-a do you do this?”  
   
Toad continued to stare out the window at the commoners below. “Because I feel bad for them.”  
   
Mario looked at Toad with a grim face. “Then I will-a tell you this, that you are walking a very fine-a line. And all-a I ask of you is to-a take care of yourself, OK?”  
   
Toad simply nodded as he was blinked out of the restaurant.


	2. Cut to the Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ludwig Von Koopa arrives demanding the Doomsday Manuscript be handed over to Bowser, but Iggy is suspicious. Meanwhile, Larry discovers something strange about the Koopa Kingdom's power output before his actions are seen by the high authorities.

Iggy Koopa emerged from one of the many warp pipes in the Warp Room and walked within one of the many hallways of Bowser Castle. But as he turned down a corridor, he found himself face to face with his oldest brother, Ludwig Von Koopa, with a very impatient look.

"Ah, you have arrived." He said, never losing his aristocratic bearing. "His majesty King Bowser has been anticipating your return. Evidently, he has been traversing the globe within the past few years searching for such a piece, but with no suck luck until now. Who would've thought the document would be hidden within the lands of our enemies?"

"Well," Iggy began, adjusting his glasses, "The Mushroom Kingdom back then was part of the Empire, so it doesn't surprise me at all that the manuscript was found there. We haven't been able to excavate within-"

"Of course Ignatius," Ludwig said, cutting him off. "You're the archeological expert. But unfortunately, our time is short as his majesty is greatly anticipating the manuscript's arrival. It is imperative that the document be handed over immediately, to ensure safe and rapid delivery." He stuck out his hand, waiting for Iggy to hand them over.

Iggy however, simply raised his eyebrow. "You do know that important documents such as these must be inspected by the Koopa Archeological Association before being presented to the Koopa King? We've found many frauds in the past-"

"I assure you," Ludwig reasoned, "That King Bowser has the logic to not ruin this fine piece of heritage. Although I will admit that a few treasures of the past could've been better...preserved." Ludwig cleared his throat. "Anyways, I believe it would be wise if these documents were to be delivered immediately. His majesty's impatience has run dry, therefore their delivery would ensure the lack of�problems." He gestured with his hand to hand them over.

Iggy, knowing how nosy his brother could be in his work, guessed his intentions. "Unless I receive a direct order from King Bowser himself, the manuscripts will not be delivered and will reside within the KAA as all other artifacts are."

Ludwig stood still, looking at Iggy curiously. Eventually, his arm fell to his side. "Very well then," he said, turning away. "Have it your way." 

Iggy watched him walk back down the hallway. It was rare for King Bowser to be interested in ancient artifacts in the first place, let alone a simple manuscript. He suspected fowl play on Ludwig's part, but something in the back of Iggy's mind told him that Bowser's was indeed interested, and that he had sent Ludwig to retrieve it for him personally. But why him? Why not a random minion, like he always does?

Iggy looked down at his manuscript as more thoughts raced across his mind. He remembered Toad trying to explain it to him, then getting cut off. There was something about this piece that they didn't want him to know, Iggy thought. Realizing that he had little time to waste, Iggy bolted down the hallway towards the KAA Headquarters.

* * *

On the 24th story of Bowser's newly revamped castle lie the KAA Headquarters, full of ancient artifacts from ancient civilizations. Many Troopas walked to and fro examining objects, others recorded statistics for record purposes. 

However, as the doors slammed open with KAA President Iggy Koopa running through the doors, everyone abruptly stopped their work. They watched as their president stopped for a second, looking around rather panicked. The secretary took this opportunity to approach him.

"Sir," she said, looking worriedly at him, "His Majesty has sent a dispatch to retrieve-"

"Where's the copy machine?" he hissed. 

"O-over in the storage room, in the back c-corner, sir," she yelped. Iggy immediately headed to the back of the room, bypassing rows and rows of ancient texts until he reached a door. Opening it, he came face-to-face with the gigantic KAA warehouse, storing thousands of ancient artifacts. Running through even more isles, he finally made it to the back of the room, where he found the large copy machine sitting in the back right corner. He unrolled the manuscript and did the unthinkable, according to KAA guidelines, anyway. He laid the manuscript face down on the copier and selected the color option. Noticing he would need two pages to fit the whole manuscript, he quickly closed the cover and started to print one of the pages.

But as the first paper began to print, the manuscript suddenly flashed a dull green, nearly making Iggy fall backwards. As the first paper finished with a fading green glow, he heard a knocking on the door. "President Iggy!" It was the Secretary. "Messengers from King Bowser are here! They want something called the Doomsday Manuscript! Do you know if we even have that?"

Another green flash once again startled Iggy. "GAH!"

"Huh? What is it?" 

"Just remembered I'm going to be late for an appointment�But let me see if I can find it�this doomsday manuscript."

Outside the door, the Secretary turned back to the messengers: two Koopatrols who looked more than annoyed. "Miss, we would appreciate it if you would step away from the doorway immediately. His majesty will not tolerate any further delay."

Just then, the door opened back up to reveal Iggy Koopa with the manuscript in his hand. "You must be the messengers." He handed it to them. "Here you go."

The Koopatrols took the manuscript with odd expressions. "Thank You," they managed to say, before the turned on their heels and marched out of the room. 

Once they left, the secretary looked at Iggy. "What was that all about?"

Iggy sighed angrily. "Bowser wanted that thing before I could record it. I was trying to document it before he got his grubby hands on it."

"So you-"

Iggy shushed her to be quiet. "I know its malpractice, but you have to remember one thing: I'm the President."

"Yeah yeah," she huffed. 

"Just don't say anything about it," Iggy asked, eyeing her. "This thing is a hot potato and I don't want word getting out."

"Alright." She muttered, more than used to keeping secrets by now.

Iggy walked out of Headquarters, shaking his head. While he was more than happy to get that manuscript off of his hands, he still had a lot of work to do on the copy that he managed to create. He looked at the leather briefcase he was carrying. At least it wasn't glowing green, he thought. 

The Koopaling walked over to one of the elevators in the hallway, anxious to get back to his room. As one of them opened, he mindlessly walked inside it, and as the doors closed he heard the sounds of a handheld device coming from his side. Turning, he found his brother Lemmy Koopa playing with a Nintendo DS. He wore a Hawaiian shirt over a white undershirt and as usual, his hair was a mess. Being an independent artist, he believed he had the right to dress as he saw fit.

"Go Magikarp! Use Splash Attack!" he shouted. "No! You failed�"

"Boredom setting in?" asked Iggy.

Lemmy looked over at Iggy. "Oh, hi Iggy. I'm just taking a break from my latest mosaic."

"The one with the entirety of Koopa City?"

Lemmy nodded. "God, the amount of detail is like, a shitload. It's not even counting our own castle either!"

"Yeah, that's a lot of work. Keep me informed on how it goes." 

"Yeah�" Lemmy trailed off. The elevator finally stopped and the doors opened. Walking out of the elevator and leaving his brother behind, Iggy decided to retire to his room for the time being to rest and contemplate over what's been happening recently.

* * *

Most of the room was kept dark and quiet, with Piranha Plants sleeping in various pots along the wall, apparently undisturbed by the loud music busting through the room. Loud typing seemed to accompany it, all coming from the same location: a juggernaut of about a half a dozen computer screens and a blue Mohawk blocking the view. Sitting in his comfy seat was Larry Koopa, doing what he did best: hacking through the various networks of the Kingdom. There was a saying within circles of the Koopa family: "No one koops Larry Koopa. No one." Even Bowser one time had tried to trick Larry into the dungeon after spying over his cabinet meetings by setting up an ambush in the corridor, but Larry simply sent a mechakoopa version of himself fused with an explosive. Bowser decided not to mess with him after that.

Larry smirked at one of his screens. This screen showed the entire energy consumption of the Kingdom into several graphs. 

"Hey man, its past peak again, right?"

Larry lazily looked at another screen, this one with about 8 different Koopa faces, all on webcam. "Yeah guys," Larry said, sarcastically. "They're being sloppy lately."

"Not even full capacity either, and those reactors are fully operational. You want me to take them down?"

"No." Larry ordered. "Nothing happens today, especially not after the manuscript."

"Oh riiiight! They finally found something. Too bad it'll never get out. But we all know what it says anyway."

"That's not the whole thing." Larry sighed. "Guys, my older brother Iggy has somehow made a photocopy of the manuscript. You know there are cameras all over that floor, and I saw that big green flash that Inauro loves to do. I bet he already knows what it says, and that's big news."

"Here we go." said one of the eight. "You knew this was gonna happen sooner or later." 

Larry got up from his chair to his fridge. "I'm worried about him. I knew that he was going too far in this, but he has no idea." 

There was silence. Larry sat back down and popped the bottle. Those faces on the screen looked real worried when he downed almost half the bottle in one go. Sighing, he moved his mouse around until he found one of his favorite programs: Grid Plus.

The silence was thick. Larry looked at the charts in front of him. It displayed the total energy consumption of the Koopa Kingdom, it didn't matter what energy source. The chief was lava, so he made sure to tack the pipes often. But thanks to Ludwig, new nuclear generators were set up, which really increased the potential that the Kingdom could offer. 

Larry scratched his chin. Either they had failed to notice all this time, or�

"I have Grid Plus open right now." Said Larry. "And it's giving me this information that I'm trying to make sense of�" He trailed off as he clicked a tab which charted all energy flows out of Ludwig's generators. "And I just can't seem to make any sense of it." He ended sarcastically.

"What is it now?" said one of them.

"Well, here's the thing," Larry muttered. "I'm looking at one of these reactors right now. It says the total electrical output is about 1200 MW, ok?"

The faces nodded.

"If I add up all of the power flowing through every line coming out of the reactor, it says that the total power is 2500 MW."

"Holy shit." 

"Larry, I know that they lie about their figures."

Larry nodded. "Me too. And I'm sure you want to know why so much power is needed, even though this kingdom will never need all of that excess energy." 

"So�top secret project? You never know what Bowser is doing."

"Dude, Bowser doesn't even know what a nuclear reactor is." 

As they bickered, Larry looked over at the clock. He had an appointment. "Well guys, its something to think about. I have to get going."

"See ya."

"Take care, man. We'll figure this out."

Larry pressed a button underneath his desk, prompting his entire computer set-up, screens and all to move behind the back wall. After the set-up was basked in darkness, the wall on either side closed up, as if nothing was there. 

He stared at the wall for a minute. Things have definitely changed since Bowser went lax on killing the Mario Brothers. His siblings have become more laid back and have taken up their own interests, mindless of the state or of their father. Larry in particular was free to do what he wanted, but the more he found out about his kingdom, the less he liked.

Seemingly on cue, his cell rang. Larry fished in his pocket for it. Caller ID was displayed coming from Ludwig's Cell phone. This was going to be interesting.

"Yes?"

"Her majesty has requested your presence."

Look how quickly she fit in with our little family, Larry thought. A title grows on people over time, but not without purpose.

"But of course." Larry replied as he heard a click on the other end.

He sighed as he walked to his door. The fact that Peach was being called 'her majesty' irked him a lot. Not that Peach was a horrible person, but Larry never trusted her and likely never will. 

Larry closed the door behind him. He was met with loud metal music coming from the opposite door in front of him. The fact that both Larry and Roy got paired together was an unlikely coincidence. But the scene sparked an idea in Larry, amongst other ideas that he may find a use for later.

But as he walked down the hallway, he was suddenly surrounded with a bright blue light which, after encircling him for a second, disappeared as quickly as it came. Shaking his head, he found himself in a totally different environment. 

The room had absolutely no likeness of the Castle at all, save for the bronze statues of Bowser on either side of him. The entire room was covered in a thick maroon carpeting depicting various designs Larry couldn't recognize. The floor, covered entirely in a fur rug, belonged to no species Larry could think of. Colored flames hung from the ceiling, all of them emitting a kind of smoke, keeping the light in the room at a dim level.

But across from him on the back wall, Larry, since he first entered the room, was aware of 3 people staring intently at him. Deciding to avoid their glares, he tried to make them out of his peripheral vision while looking at the other things in the room. He first saw his father King Bowser Koopa, laid out extravagantly upon a scarlet couch with various fruits laid out on his stomach. To the right of him was Peach, who looked at Larry intently, studying him. The last person sat not far from Bowser's head, underneath a makeshift carpet tent, seemingly trying to hide the massive bong within. The massive blue hair made it undeniable: Ludwig Von Koopa, seated rather comfortably on a plush fur seat, was enjoying his regular hits.

After inhaling the opium-filled hair, Larry lightly chuckled to himself. Their stares did not relent. He had put the pieces of the puzzle together months ago. He knew what it spelled out, but he didn't know why they were doing this. This was his invitation: it was now or never. 

Larry finally glanced at Bowser. "Never gets old, does it?" 

Bowser threw an apple into his mouth, but continued to stare at him with Peach following his gestures. However, Ludwig had broken his stare to take a few more puffs before resting the bong down on its pedestal. He then looked up at him again.

"Over a period of time, it turns into a habit." He said, which made Larry smirk. "Of course, we don't retriangulate everybody's position."

Bowser cleared his throat, glancing over at Ludwig with a very annoyed expression. Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows. "But unfortunately, I have a meeting with the Koopa Energy Board to discuss the improvement of fusion energy efficiency." Ludwig got up and headed towards a door behind him in the corner. "Also, to modify my 'Koopahari Concerto No. 5,' per her majesty's request." 

Peach squealed with delight, but Bowser roared loudly, making Ludwig clearing his throat and closing the door behind him. With him gone, the two focused their attention back on Larry. Again, an uneasy silence followed.

"Peach!" Bowser roared. "Didn't you want to talk to him about your little�problem?"

"Oh, it wasn't all that important!" she said. "I was just thinking about how I haven't seen Larry since�since�you had built that hotel chain-"

"That never happened." Larry said quickly. Bowser nodded, agreeing. 

"Oh." Peach thought for a moment. "Then it must have been where the giant robotic animals invaded Jewelry Land. I remember when you used to pilot one of those things. You were so little then!"

After seeing Bowser's previous approval, Larry decided to take it a step further.

"I remember heading to the castle one time and hearing Peach's�screams of Lamentation."

Bowser's face twisted for a second, then he suddenly erupted with laughter. Peach elbowed him in the stomach, but that didn't stop him.

"Anyways," she said, looking slightly flustered, "I did have a small problem with my computer."

"Shoot."

"Well�" she began, "All of the numbers in my computer are off. Like, I'll check my account balance, but it always says that I have more than I actually have. And I know what I have, of course."

Larry nodded. He was too deep in this now to turn back.

"Yeah, it's something that's been popping up recently."

Peach smiled widely at his response. "Good! I hope it's not too much trouble if you could repair it for me then?"

"It's an easy job. Why not?"

"Oh! Wonderful! I'll make sure to send it to you tonight then." She said.

Before Larry could respond however, he once again found himself surrounded by that mysterious blue light.


	3. Fried Joe's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toad reaches a restaurant in the Dry Dry Desert for his favorite meal only to run into his not-so-favorite Koopalings.

The Borderlands: the stretch of dry land between the Mushroom Kingdom and Darkland. Rouges loved to roam these areas, but Toad didn't mind. One of his favorite resteraunts was in this place, and after seeing Mario's spaghetti slurp-o-rama, he decided to go for something less saucy.

Toad had made it to Fried Joes. Small name, but big meals with a cheap price. It was a popular destination for both sides, being in neutral territory. About two stories high and resting between the Cheep Cheep River and the Dry Dry Mountains, it was a wonder that its name hadn't reached the mainland Mushroom Kingdom, or the Koopa Kingdom for that matter.

"There are things better kept secret." Toad thought as he hopped out of his Mushroom Pickup. Mario had given him his ultimatum as far as his position was concerned in all of this. True, he could be leading a life like Mario or Luigi, but the simpleton within him refused to be a part of all that. 

And as Toad stepped into Fried Joe's and looked across the endless number of koopa's and toad's alike, he realized that at least here, they could trust each other. Anything that went wrong with the place, the loyal customer base would almost always help to bring it back up again. It didn't matter who it was.

Unlike

"Hi! Just one for today?" asked the waitress, interrupting his thoughts. Toad nodded and the waitress followed him to the riverview section of the resteraunt, reserved for the higher class of the Mushroom World. Such celebrities like Yoshi or King Boo were not uncommon in this section. As he passively waved back to those who waved to him, he noticed Mouser give him a wink without so much of a smile. Toad returned the gesture and walked past.

They were in the same boat.

Given a seat in the corner, Toad thanked the waitress as she walked off. Sighing, Toad leaned back on the seat and tried to think about something else. He suddenly remembered his new Mushroom T100 Truck that he got. Larger than most other vehicles, he figured it would give him an advantage on the road because of his height. So far he was proven correct after accidentally throwing off other cars on the highway to Fried Joe's. Reaching all of the controls was still a problem, as well as getting into and out of the truck itself, but it was a fun vehicle to drive. 

Toad chuckled to himself, but his chuckling soon stopped when he heard a dull rumble through the resteraunt. He looked outside and saw, unmistakably, two metallic doomships trying to find parking spots. The rumbling had also caused a shouting amongst his section.

"Damn Koopalings," muttered one. Toad looked and it sounded like it came from King Boo. "50 parking spots for one doomship is NOT what I call service!" 

"So?" Toad said, speaking up. "I've said it so many times: give them their own parking spots!"

"Yeah?" Mouser stood up. "I wish it were that easy. You'd have to blow a gigantic hole in the Dry Dry Mountains for all of us to be satisfied."

"Why don't you go and do that then?" suggested Toad. 

Mouser raised an eyebrow at him as the room fell silent, nodding their heads. "You know what?" he said, stepping out of his seat. "I think I will." And with that, he walked to the door, followed closely by bob-ombs and other demolition experts. Others cheered him on as he exited the resteraunt.

Toad sat back down in his seat, shaking his head. One problem solved, at least. 

"Hi there!" A toad had walked over to his table. "My name's Tiffany Toad and I'll be your waitress today. What can I get you?"

"I'll start with dessert first." Toad said, opening the dessert menu. He usually got the same thing every time, but he always checked for new additions. 

"Ok! What would you like?" 

Toad closed the menu, but before he could say anything, a loud explosion ripped through the resteraunt. "Oh my! What's going on?" Tiffany said, balancing herself.

"Mouser is fixing the Koopaling problem," said Toad, and as if on cue, the doomships finally left their positions, headed towards the explosions. "But anyways, I would like the 3 footer, to start."

Tiffany gave him an odd look, however. "Yes, I KNOW it's ironic." Toad grumbled. "But it's my favorite dessert. Also, I'd like a Maple Ale with that as well."

"Alright." She said, noting it down and walking off. The rumbling had finally ceased and soon the Koopalings would enter. Toad could only imagine how things would go. It was the equivalent of someone like Peach entering the resteraunt. Royalty tended to do that.

"Here's your Maple Ale," Tiffany said, placing the large glass in front of him. "And your 3 footer." A large ice cream dish about 3 feet high was placed in the table along with a J-shaped spoon. She giggled. "Sorry Toad, I just think its funny imagining you eat that."  
Toad smiled. "Don't worry, I get comments like that all the time. But hey, if you love something, you have to do everything you can to get it, right?"

Tiffany smiled back. "I hope you enjoy it." She then walked off to the next table, leaving an extra small Toad with an extra large sundae, sticking into the air like a sore thumb. 

Toad's smile faded however when the Koopalings entered the resteraunt, followed by Mouser, who quickly made his back to his seat. "I like your thinking, buddy." he commented before sitting back down in his seat. 

Toad simply nodded. He noted that the seat in front of him was empty. Toad continued to nod as he saw two Koopalings round the corner. The first he recognized as Roy Koopa, who hi-fived Mouser as he walked past his table. The second was Morton Koopa Jr., who was furiously talking into a cell phone. With both of them distracted, Toad hoped that by sinking in his seat, they'll just treat the 3 foot sundae nothing more than a curiosity. 

Evidently, his plan had worked as neither of them noticed him as they sat down. 

"What do you mean ratings are down?" Morton bellowed. "They are on the uptrend two weeks ago! That's no excuse for it to suddenly plunge 10%...No, I think that's that new character, what's his nameWell whoever he isJack, that's right!" Roy let out a gruff as he looked through the menu's. "Kylie, that's the ONLY reason why I haven't ditched him yet. Wendy gets the same treatment too, you know. I have to work around the ratings to keep these people satisfied, so listen, I have an idea." Morton got out a notepad and pencil. "Figure out a way for Jack to get in some uptight situation, like a near-death experience or something. They'll be more focused on him, and I'll be damned if I DON'T get rid of him if ratings continue to plunge!" Morton paused. "No Kylie, you remember that I added him from that bet we took? That's all it was, didn't go beyond thatHaha! You know what? Wendy suggested the same thing, and I'm finding all of these interest groups on the Internet with the same opinion. If I DID add such a channel to Koopa TV"

Toad thought he was getting a headache just listening to him. It was said that the Koopaling that has changed the most over the years was Morton. No longer a compulsive talker, he now put his energy into his new Koopa TV Corp, which was responsible for broadcasting every TV station within the Koopa Kingdom. His black suit and loose tie confirmed that, as well as his constant use of his cell. From what Toad knew of him, he kept 2 cells on him, one for business and the other for private use.

Roy had started to softly hum to himself. Morton looked at him annoyingly. "Yeah, alright Kylie. I'm at Fried Joe's, sacrificing my time talking with youOh yeah, I know its worth my time, as tonight will beyeah, see you then." Morton, then by some miracle, stopped talking for a full 5 seconds as he put his cell away. 

"You know what I'm gettin'"? Roy said. "Quarter pound Monty Mole, medium rare, topped with fire flowers." His tongue lapped his teeth as he thought of the delicacy.

Morton however, simply grunted. "Yeah yeah, well Kylie is an important associate of mine. While I have to regularly converse with many of my idiotic minions, I try not to spend too much time with them, otherwise they end up rubbing my elbow. I feel disgusted by the thought of it."

"You've had it, it sounds." Roy commented. "Had my fair share. Still do."

"Yeah well," Morton began, scratching his chin, "I don't mind the favors at all, really. But once you start thinking that they just want to get their ideas on the next episode of 'Who Kooped Ricky Koopa?', and then the whole 'coffee by noon, hotel by night' thing gets old. Course you could start demanding more out of thembetter rooms perhaps, but Kylie's more than them for 2 reasons. First, she's my VP, so I guess I should talk to her, right?" He chuckled. "Second, she's so hot. She has this ability to appear out of fucking nowhere. Like, she appeared right behind me in my office when I was"

"Yeah, alright Mort." grunted Roy. "Just get whateva you wanna get."

Morton muttered something to himself before opening up the menu. "You're right, I've talked enough about myself. So what's going on with you, lately? Heard pops got you a new job?"

"Ha! Yeah, new job alright." Roy smiled a toothy grin. "He made me second-in-command."

"WHHATTTT?" Morton looked very surprised. "What the hell?!"

"Don't ask me." Roy put his menu away. "He said that Ludwig threw in the towel. Told me I'm running the whole enchilada from now on." Roy then paused and looked thoughtful. "But Mort, that's my beef. Right there."

"How? You were made the second most powerful Koopa in the entire Kingdom! Why would anyone be pissed off?" 

"Mort, listen to me good." Roy turned to face him, something he doesn't do unless he's dead serious. "Pops said Luddy quit, but he never said why. I asked him, but he waved me off. 'Not important,' he said. I tried calling Luddy but he's always busy."

"Yeah, I've been having that problem too. I always get his voice mail. Don't know what's up with that." 

"Luddy's had that job since the Brothers came here." Roy paused, seemingly remembering those times. "People don't quit after 20 years for no god damn reason, and then shut off their cells so nobody talks to them. But it gets better." He leaned back in his seat. "When somebody leaves a job like that, they get a share of the forces. Now you know I got friends in the Troops"

Morton nodded.

"And I always keep tabs on 'em. Some of them got portioned off to Luddy when he left. I thought, no biggie. Then, 5 days ago," He leaned on the table. "I lost contact with all of 'em. The entire squad disappeared overnight."

"What?" Morton was at a loss. "Maybe he relocated them?"

"Couldn't find 'em on radar. I told pops about it, he said their Luddy's troops now, he can do whatever the hell he wants with them."

"Well," Morton explained. "That might just be it right there. He's the oldest, you know." At that moment, Morton's cell rang. Roy looked at him annoyed.

"Private call." He said, fishing out his second cell. "What?...Oh, hi Wendy. No, I'm having some lunch. I've been harassed by TV associates long enoughyes, some of it was sexual harassment, but hey, I'm the president and I don't give two-shits about company policy! Haha!...You too, huh? The way the world turns these days"

"Hi!" A waitress had roamed to their seat. "I'm Sasha Toad. What can I get you?"

"Fink Lager." said Roy. "Monty Mole, medium rare. Fire Flower special."

"Ok, and how about you?" she asked, looking at Morton. 

"Huh?" he chirped. "Oh, umGoomba pastrami."

As they continuously talked, Toad couldn't help but feel lucky in his situation as they didn't seem to notice him. Taking in a big spoonful of ice cream, their latest conversation continued to course through his mind. While Toad had the inclination that these two Koopalings wouldn't be any problem, the idea of passing the word to the blue-haired genius seemed like a good idea. And normally, he would do such a thing.

But he felt uneasy. He had felt uneasy ever since he gave the Doomsday Manuscript to Iggy Koopa. Being briefed by Mario, he knew what the script was all about. Keeping a treasure like that could be used as a great weapon against Bowser in the future, but Mario didn't buy it.

And Toad never trusted Bowser, and never will.

Relaxing against his seat, he could only wonder of the future of the Koopalings. He knew that sometime in the future, after it's all said and done, they will play an important role in the outcome of this world


	4. The Days of Inauro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iggy Koopa inspects the Doomsday Manuscript before it teleports him into a time period in the past during the Koopa Empire.

The large wooden door opened with a long creak, revealing Iggy Koopa who briskly walked past the door as it closed behind him. He breathed in as he re-gathered himself in his new surroundings. His room was quite small, with a desk on the left wall near the entrance, with a bed to its right, lodged within a niche. On the right wall there was a simple computer set up on another desk. The back wall housed cathedral-shaped windows, draped with black satin.

After gathering himself, Iggy turned around and looked through his mail deposit on the back of his door. Grabbing the pile of letters, he walked towards to the right side of his bed, towards a large pillar that ran in the back corner of the room. It was amazing that no one found out about this yet, he thought. He kicked in a stone on the pillar touching the floor. After a hissing sound, Iggy reached up and pushed a stone on the wall next to him. With grinding and mechanical sounds, the stone pillar rotated to the right, revealing a spiral staircase winding upwards. 

Walking up, Iggy soon reached another door at the top, this one much more futuristic looking. After a quick retinal scan, the door quickly opened, revealing an interior quite unlike most of the castle. The room was very modern and minimalist, with very few contrasting colors, or any colors for that matter. The walls were predominated by white, with silver beams crisscrossing the ceiling. White leather couches scattered the floor, with the biggest encircling a large glass table and facing a large sphere floating on top a pedestal: Iggy's own version of television.

Placing his briefcase on the glass table, he walked to his kitchen, where he grabbed himself a quick drink on the shelf. Even though he was underage, he had enough knowledge in chemistry to make his own alcohol. Of course, once knowledge of his practice went out, his siblings, mainly Roy and Wendy would ask him for a few favors. At the very least, Roy no longer beat him up.

Iggy walked back to the couch and promptly sat down. He stared at the wall in front of him for a few minutes. 

Silence.

It was a commodity that he was losing. While the move was largely completed and that his room was constructed in secrecy before any of this happened, he still needed to supervise the "critter caravans," as Bowser called them, and move his chemistry supplies as well. That would take several days, as he had to move them to his new secret lab two floors under him without anyone noticing. At least they were the last things he needed to move over, he thought. 

Taking a sip from his glass, he set it down along with his mail on the table and opened up his briefcase. Retrieving the manuscript inside, he placed both pieces of paper together and taped them together. Grabbing a special pair of bifocals from his pocket, he examined the script.

It was definitely nothing ordinary. In the center of the document was a large spherical object surrounded by ancient Koopa language from the late Koopa Empire. Around this large sphere were smaller spheres of various colors, seemingly dotted across the document at random. Iggy peered closer and raised his eyebrows when he realized that the spheres represented planets.

"I've heard stories" Iggy said to himself. It was true that rumors persisted that the Koopa Empire had managed to map their solar system and its various planets, but no surviving evidence had been founduntil now. Iggy, being fluent in ancient Koopa, began to read some of the inscriptions:

Written for our descendants. After so much has been lost, it would be terrible to leave nothing for our future. Therefore, without words, we shall describe our history to you, whenever you're ready.

"Huh?" was the only thing Iggy could mutter. That made no sense at all. He looked for other inscriptions around the planet, but found only one other:

This planet has been named many things throughout the ages. In the end, all names are forgotten.

"Huh" Iggy lay back in the seat. What did that first inscription mean? It would've made more sense if it was the beginning of an historical document, but how would that explain history without words? "Well, I'm not getting answers out of that one." He focused on the other spheres surrounding the main planet, hoping he would find some clues.

The other spheres had many shades of color, including yellow, blue and red, with each having a short description next to them. Iggy felt his hope for an easy decryption dissipating. He read the inscription next to the red sphere. 

First of Eight.

Iggy blinked. Making sure that he read that right, he sighed and lay back on his seat again. "Ok, forget the main description for a second," he told himself. He looked across the inscription. Each sphere had its own color, not one being the same as the other. However, he did notice that there were 4 spheres on one page and 4 spheres on the other, leaving the main planet as the "9th sphere." After thinking for a second, Iggy took out a notebook and pen from his briefcase and easily translated the other descriptions around the spheres. With a definite set order, Iggy finished translating the 8th sphere when he suddenly noticed a yellow glow emanating from it.

Iggy breathed in. He had nearly forgotten that he was working with magic for a second. Curious, he passed his hand over it again, but it did not glow again. Biting his lip, he took the notepad from the table to read it, only to find another sphere to glow briefly before vanishing.

"Ok, what in the-" he began, but stopped as an idea so simple struck him. He held up his hands.

4 claws each.

He laughed. "I should've known." But his laughter died down as soon as another idea struck him, much harder this time.

"Wait, this is a portal?!" Frantically, he stood up and re-read the first passage. Without words. 8 spheres for 8 claws. It made perfect sense. What better way to preserve history than to make a portal to history itself? 

Flexing his fingers, he knew it was tempting to try out the portal for himself, but the dangers of such a journey lingered in the back of his mind. What if he couldn't get back? Normally, a portal such as this one would leave a marker at the origination site. 

Iggy then remembered the wand that was sheathed on his belt. "Come on Iggy, use your head," he muttered, taking the yellow-gemmed wand and silently said a few words before pointing the wand towards the center of the room. The wand flashed a brilliant yellow, and 5 feet in front stood a glowing pillar of light: his own marker for him to return, just incase. He knew he would be alright. He had been on many adventures in the past few years and returned fine through most of them, although there was something about this one that unsettled him. 

Shrugging off the feeling, he placed his left set of fingers on the appropriate spheres. Once they all glowed, he repeated the same step for his right hand. The central planet began to glow a dark green, and its light soon encompassed the whole manuscript, not unlike his attempts within the warehouse earlier. 

But before Iggy could react, the green hue quickly surrounded his body and his vision faded into darkness.

When his vision returned only a few moments later, he saw a vast field of green, with the sounds of commotion coming from one direction. Unlike Dark Land, with the sky in a perpetual red or black depending on time of day, the sky here was a dark blue, with a bright yellow sun shining directly overhead. 

Iggy looked down to his feet and saw that the manuscript did indeed leave a marker for him to get back. Feeling more confident, he started to walk towards the direction of all the commotion. 

Many minutes passed as he walked hill after hill of green grass. There didn't seem to be a sign of life anywhere, not even a goomba. As the noise began to grow much louder than before, he figured that they were all at some type of festival.  
But as he thought, Iggy suddenly remembered that King Bowser now had the original Doomsday Manuscript. There was no doubt that he would've been able to discover the portal as well. "No no, they're not celebrating his arrival." He told himself. It could be anything, but the thought of Bowser manipulating the past unnerved him greatly. Somehow, Iggy sensed a new mission for the Mario Brothers approaching quickly.

As Iggy climbed a rather large green hill, he finally saw the tops of low-rise buildings, sparkling in gold and precious gems come into view. He stopped awestruck as he beheld building after building running the course into the distance, with glitter and sparkles filling the air and above all, the roar of hundreds of Koopa's cheering and talking amongst themselves. A faint music could be heard somewhere inside the city, nearly drowned out by everything else.

As Iggy continued to stare completely amazed, an elderly koopa wearing a white tunic approached him with a quizzed look. 

"Ermis there a reason why YOU aren't wearing your robes today, son?" 

Iggy snapped out of his daze. He looked at the old Koopa, recognizing the ancient Koopa language. Fortunately, he was fluent in it due to his archeological studies over the years. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have visited in the first place.

"Me?" 

"Yes son-"

"Oh, ignore pops." A small goomba quickly ran up to the two. "This is an incredible day, especially for King Inauro who will be absolutely delighted to meet another of King Bowser's children!"

Iggy gulped. This was not going very well.

"Yes Goomber, which is precisely why his majesty will need the robes!" Pops said. "He will need to stand out from the rest of the crowd, but not only that, but his royalty would only demand such fine taste and prestige!" He turned back to Iggy. "Don't you?"

"I demand many things," Iggy replied.

"Please your majesty; do not speak further without wearing the robes!" Pops turned back to Goomber. "I told you I had foreseen this event, and I told you the spare robes should've been kept!"

"Relax! I still have it here." With that, Goomber pulled out what appeared to be long black robe etched with golden symbols Iggy couldn't recognize at first. Regardless, Iggy took the robe and quickly put it on him. 

"Marvelous!" pops remarked. "It will work perfectly for the meeting now taking place."

"What meeting?" asked Iggy.

"Oh, the one between your father Bowser and Emperor Inauro of course. Though I imagine Bowser means no harm to our people, I am highly skeptical of hisproposal for weapons trade." Sighing, he turned and sat down on the grass. "We first made contact with your older brother Ludwig von Koopa, who told us all about you and your family, and your homeland, and the predicament your world now faces."

Iggy felt like he knew nothing about everything. "predicament?"

Pops quickly turned to him. "You do not know the crisis your own world now faces?!" Iggy stared at him blankly. Pops looked at him with concern. "Goomber, leave us for a while." Goomber silently trotted off down the hill again. "Come, sit with me. By the sound of it, it will be the only information you will receive on the matter."

Iggy sat down, somewhat concerned. "I do know that something is being done behind my back. I got here using a copy of the original manuscript, which neither Ludwig nor Bowser liked very much for some reason."

Pops hummed to himself. "Upon his opening speech, Bowser had said that only a select few of your race knew of the upcoming danger to your world. To me, it sounds something along the lines of insider information and something which you or the rest of your family are not inclined to know."

"What is it?" 

"He never said what it was. He did say that his son Ludwig was the first being on your planet to discover it."

"Discover what?"

"We do not know, but he has given us hints, hints that we're looking into at our library. He stated that this danger marked the 'end of our age,' as he put it." 

Iggy was silent. He knew that term well. The age usually signified the time span of a glorious Koopa Kingdom within history, with some exceptions. The term itself is most famous applied to the end of Inauro's Koopa Empire, however.

"I especially loved the Emperor's response to this knowledge. 'For the public to remain ignorant, awash with the desires of the senses keeping them occupied from the ideas of revolution, the power behind the throne can push ahead with whatever agenda they may desire. Only the King's trusted may achieve in running the perfect world, a world with a populace completely submissive to the hand's whim, a world where each danger is never known until they're eradicated beforehand.'"

"Wow, I bet my father loved to hear that." Iggy replied sarcastically.

"He did, but in any case, it seems as though Bowser and his heir Ludwig are the only Koopa's to know the truth, although I'm sure there are others who may have guessed by now. You'll have to find the rest out for yourself."

Iggy stood back up. "That means I have to get into that meeting."

"They've been at the Emperor's Bath for several hours, and I doubt they will be finishing anytime soon."

"Thank you for your advice, popscould you also do a favor for me?" asked Iggy, as he took off his robe.

"Anything, your majesty."

"Tell absolutely no-one that I'm here, alright?"

"Something that must be done, ordered or not."

"Thank you again." With that, Iggy started down the hill towards the city. 

"Good luck," Pops called back. "You will need it."

* * *

The city streets were full of people. It was to the point of having trouble walking, which Iggy found out quickly as he entered it. Still, the amount of people gave him excellent cover from anybody who might have noticed him. 

The meeting was being held at the Emperor's Bath, but he soon realized that he didn't ask Pops for directions. There was so much going through his mind after learning about Bowser's cover-up that he had difficulty thinking about anything else. "Focus," he told himself. He needed to figure out where this place was. 

He stopped walking and examined his surroundings. Other than being surrounded by people, he seemed to be at a major street corner lined with stores on all sides. One sign read "Carline's Drought," located on the corner of a large intersection. Taking it to be a bar, he quickly hatched a plan and went inside.

Upon entering, he received a few odd stares which prompted him to take off his glasses. He quickly moved to a stool and sat down. It wasn't long until a young koopa girl no later than her 20's came over to him.

Her face suddenly turned to one of shock however. "Iggy Koopa!" she whispered. She leaned in closer. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"How in the" he thought, but he decided to play it along for now. "I know I must be pretty famous by now," he whispered back at her, "But I need the directions to the Emperor's Bath. Now."

"You and most of your family are famous for being on Bowser's blacklist."

"Oh you're kidding me." Bowser was really pulling the strings now.

"Don't worry, Iggy. None of us are going to do that to you. He thinks he can just walk in here and do what he wants. I honestly don't know where his common sense is." She walked over to the tap, pouring him a glass and quickly slid it over to him. He promptly drank half the glass in one gulp.

"Take a left on this corner. It's the second block down. It's completely gated off and guarded though."

"Don't worry, I have it covered." Iggy reached into his pocket to pull out change, but the bartender shook her head.

"You're royalty, you don't pay a coin here."

"Nice treat," he said, smiling. "Thanks for everything."

"Anytime."

Iggy hopped down from his barstool and ignored the glares as he walked out of the bar. Putting his glasses back on, he turned left and rounded the corner, heading west. From his distance, he thought he could see a mist rising up into the sky somewhere on the other side of the road. He continued onward, but soon his thoughts began to connect the dots. The 'end of the age' was directly tied to the Doomsday Manuscript. If this was the case, then it made sense why Bowser didn't want him to investigate it. What concerned him more was the fact that the entire family was blacklisted from coming here except Bowser himself and apparently Ludwig. Iggy was disturbed by this order quite a bit.

Eventually, he made it to what was termed the Emperor's Bath, a large golden building surrounded by many fountains. However, the main attraction in the front square was the 30 ft Bowser statue sitting there, made out of solid gold. Iggy could only shake his head at the sight and wonder how Bowser got a hold of it. From what he could see, there were numerous guards guarding every passageway, but the crowds were so thick around the statue that he came up with an idea. Taking a hold of his wand yet trying to keep it out of sight, he muttered a spell to himself. After a few seconds, he completely disappeared from view: his invisibility spell had worked. While it only lasted around a half and hour, he hoped that it would be enough time to figure out what's going on. 

The main gate was lined with Koopa's in full suit armor. Fortunately, most of them were occupied with keeping the populace from defacing the statue, so Iggy managed to slip by the line without anyone noticing. The only thing they would've been able to notice was his shadow, which was becoming more obscured as he made his way into the building.  
As Iggy expected, the hallways were mostly deserted, with most Koopa's probably meeting with Inauro's descendant. The end of the main hall eventually split into two directions, but judging from the commotion that was getting louder, he guessed he had pretty much arrived. He took the left path but stopped abruptly as the right wall opened up.

To his right was a large circular room, with the floor about 2 feet deep in water and the ceiling open to the sky. The perimeter was lined with large pillars, which Iggy promptly hid behind once he saw who was in the room. Seated across the other side was a well-proportioned Koopa with bright green and yellow hair wearing a golden crown laced with silver. Most likely Emperor Inauro, he seemed to be deep in thought, as the subjects around him also remained silent. To his left was seated none other than King Bowser, who looked more than just a little impatient with his head in his hand. Next to Bowser was Ludwig von Koopa, who seemed to be conversing with the natives, who filled up the majority of the room itself. Most were quiet, seemingly waiting for Inauro to speak. Others talked amongst themselves however, and Iggy overheard one of their conversations.

"He's trying to get our weapons. Again."

The other laughed. "It won't happen." 

"You think that Bowser outside was enough for him? Selfish."

"Shhh, he's stirring from his thought."

Sure enough, Inauro sat up, facing the crowd. Bowser looked up.

"If what King Bowser says is true," he said, "then his own people do not know what is about to befall them."

The crowd talked amongst themselves. Bowser, who clearly looked annoyed, stood up.

"So? Why do they need to know?" he argued. "Those pea-brains would riot in the streets if they found out the world was ending! They aren't smart enough to handle the truth!"

"Your people are your first responsibility as King," Said Inauro, "Which is why I refuse to give you the weapons necessary."

"WHAT??" 

"Council dismissed." And with that, Inauro stood up and walked out of the room, followed by many of his servants. Bowser, left behind, looked as if he was about to explode. 

"He's asking for it!"

"Father," said Ludwig, standing. "We have been able to gain a golden statue attributed to you. While this may be a small setback, I suggest heading back to the Castle to reformulate our strategy."

"Hmph" The two got out of the bath, but Bowser stopped quickly. 

"Is there a problem?"

"Ludwig, did you hear anything about Iggy?"

Iggy gulped. He took a hold of his wand and prepared himself to teleport back.

"Our spies have yet to report his sighting within this realm."

Without saying anything else, Bowser stretched out his hand and with a finger snap, disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

Once the smoke cleared, Ludwig retrieved his own wand, topped with a blue sapphire. As he raised the wand above his head and prepared to chant a spell, his wand started to blink a bright blue, catching Ludwig off guard. 

"Someone is here," he muttered, lowering it. "Someone close."

Iggy realized that he had been compromised. Once he heard Ludwig chanting a new spell, he decided to take a gamble and chanted a counter-spell.

Sure enough, Ludwig looked disappointed once his wand stopped blinking. "Hmmm" he stared at the floor in deep thought. After about a minute of this, his face turned into a wide smirk and he raised the wand above his head again. With a few words, Ludwig disappeared in a bright pillar of blue light.

Did Ludwig see him? Iggy didn't know, but once he was out of sight, Iggy knew he had to high tail it back to his room before they made it back. He had a lot of work to do, and he was thankful that he made a 2nd portal back. After a few moments, he muttered a few words and disappeared in a small flash of yellow light.


	5. Agendas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lemmy Koopa wanders the halls of Bowser's Castle wondering where everyone has gone for the evening. Unbeknown to him, Ludwig arrives moments later and talks to his father Bowser about their recent visit to Inauro's kingdom.

What an odd day it has been.

Not only was Lemmy Koopa near completion of his latest painting, which he thought was odd considering the amount of time he's spent on it, but most of the castle was dead silent once he left his room. Normally, there would be at least one or two guards roaming the hallways even in the dead of night, but all Lemmy could hear was the cackling of the electric torches on the walls. Lemmy smiled to himself as he continued to walk towards the courtyard. The technology was so horribly outdated in the castle. The rooms of his siblings had electrical lighting, internet access and widescreen televisions while the rest of the castle was stuck in the medieval ages of Koopa history, including full plate armor for the soldiers. Perhaps it was being respectful of the Kingdom's past history, but Lemmy couldn't help but wonder why things weren't changing. At least the food was upgraded tremendously, he thought.

Once he reached the courtyard, he stopped walking once he realized that most of the torches weren't lit at all, making the room near pitch black save for the high-rise windows giving a view of the nighttime sky, softly glowing red from the lava. Not a single guard was seen in the room, which was highly unusual. Normally, the troops would have training upon the eve of dusk, but they at least kept about 2-3 guards in the room. Lemmy knew something was up. He sat down on one of the plush chairs on the far wall as he fingered for his cell phone. 

Bowser had felt it necessary to give each of his kids a cell phone to keep in contact with them, including Bowser Jr. even though he barely knew how to use it. Lemmy flipped open his to check his contact list to see who was available. He was surprised to find that everyone was marked as either offline or unavailable except for Wendy, who was marked as "Be right back." Normally at around this time, they would be having their weekly dinner together and people would be all over the castle. He heard his stomach growl at the thought of it.

Where was everybody?

Deciding to take his chances, Lemmy hopped off the chair and headed towards Wendy's room. Knowing her, she was probably there but watching some lousy soap opera or something, or talking to one of her boyfriends. Being a princess, she easily collected a list of "boyfriends" that she called from time to time.

Sure enough, as Lemmy arrived at her door, her voice could be heard talking away, albeit indecipherable. He pressed the doorbell. The chatter quickly died down and the door opened revealing Wendy trying to silence the other end of her phone.

"Is that Pete?" asked Lemmy, recognizing the voice.  
Wendy nodded as she continued her assault. "No Pete, the chocolates you gave me were cherry and I HATE CHERRY!!!"

"She likes Raspberry!" shouted Lemmy, making Wendy give him an evil glare.

"No, you don't have to like, send another box over." She said, "In fact, you don't have to send me anything ever again." She hung up. "Another scratched off the list. I mean, how hard is it to find Mr. Perfect?" 

"As hard as finding Mrs. Perfect." replied Lemmy. 

"What are you talking about? She's right in front of you!" Wendy said, striking a pose. "Hey, why are you here anyway?"

"Because the dinner is tonight, but everybody's gone doing something or other."

"Ooooh, you didn't hear? Bowser cancelled the dinner this week because of some like, important meeting or something. With the Transportation Committee or whatever you call them."

"Oh" Lemmy was annoyed when his siblings didn't tell him these kinds of things. "Listen, I finished my masterpiece this afternoon-"

"Nice." Wendy's eyes went wide. 'Wait, was that the one that was like, the size of your wall?"

"Yeah. I finally finished it!" Lemmy reached into his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a postcard of it. The painting spanned about 350 feet in length, covering an entire wall of his room. The painting itself was picture perfect, and looked as if it were real. In the foreground at the bottom of the painting was Koopa Castle itself, with 8 towers built within a circle, each for one Koopaling. In the center was a large tower built for Bowser himself. Despite the height of the towers, the city in the background was not blotted out, with its own towers failing on comparison to the massive size of the castle, with the glittering lights of its 42 floors adding to its gloriousness.

"Wow" Wendy looked at the picture amazed. "I had no idea"

Lemmy laughed. "Most people don't. Too busy to notice, but that's ok. Anyways, since dinner's cancelled, I'm headed out to Belucci Koopa's and was wondering if you wanted to come along?"

Wendy thought for a moment. "ActuallyI wouldn't mind that. You don't mind if I brought some friend's along, do you?"

Lemmy fumbled for his cell, smiling. "I don't mind at all"

* * *

Crown Prince Ludwig Von Koopa found himself surrounded by elite Koopatrol personnel as he warped back to Koopa Castle. What were these idiots worried about...?

"We were worried about you, sir." said one, answering his thought. "Bowser has already retired to his throne."

"Do not be concerned about my well being," said Ludwig, walking down the corridor to the throne room. "For when it is all said and done, I will be fine in the end. I would worry about taking care of yourself and your family in the days to come."

The Koopatrol nodded. "Of course, sire. In the end, the Koopa Empire will be prosperous once again."

Ludwig said nothing as the Koopatrol and his squadron marched off to the hallway next to him. He continued walking down the hallway, but with a second thought turned to the right down a very narrow passageway. He ran his claw along the edges of the stone until a small clock was heard and in place of one of the stones was a small blue sapphire dispenser. He quickly replaced the gem on his wand with the new one and reran his claw along the wall, causing the dispenser to disappear.

Ludwig personally loved the dispenser system he had set up for his siblings. They were spread throughout random locations around the castle, specific for each sibling. They were ideal for a long siege, or from the simple size of the castle, they were just convenient to have. The gems typically lasted for about a month of constant use, which would be the perfect excuse for his delay, Ludwig thought. Speaking of which, he noticed a blinking in his pocket, so he took out the old sapphire and looked at it.

"I thought as much" he said, trailing off. With his hand over it, he muttered a spell and the sapphire stopped blinking and went dead. Putting the stone back in his pocket, he was well aware of what the blinking meant. The problem was

Ludwig approached the massive steel doors of the throne room. For some reason, his nervousness with meeting his father has dissolved as of late and he found his confidence increasing. Perhaps with all that's been happening, the plan would go through after all, he thought. Things were starting to look better for him as the days went by.

Thanks to Larry.

Ludwig pushed open one of the doors and saw his father King Bowser lounged on his throne, eating various fruits and chatting away with several Magikoopas. Next to it, a large, plush sofa was set up next to a large table filled with exotic soups and pastries, Ludwig's favorite foods. After looking at the setup, Ludwig knew that their strategy would have to be modified. He knew Bowser wasn't happy with Inauro's result and he's going to want an alternative when the time comes.

"Ludwig! Sit down, or rather, lie down and engorge yourself as we approach the final days! Hahaha!" he said with a mouthful of food.  
Ludwig lay down on the sofa without saying a word. In truth, he was exhausted from running around with his father in the past and appreciated whatever rest he could get. He reached over and sipped a yellow soup next to him.

"Guards," said Bowser, making a motion with his hand. At that moment, all of the guards and servants in the room walked out, leaving the two Koopa's alone.

"It looks as if we must rely upon our own technology from this point forward." said Ludwig.

"Obviously," said Bowser, "Even though it was a long shot"

Ludwig gulped down one of his soups. "So, where will you place your recently acquired statue?"

"I was just thinking about that," said Bowser. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "In the Palace Courtyard! Perfect!"

"Hmmm..." Ludwig hummed to himself. "Are you that sure that not a single individual would question its authenticity?" 

"Well, uh..." Bowser stammered. "Well you see, Koopa Mining Corp collapsed the Jungle Japes mine a few months ago and uh, they felt it would be better to suck up to their infinitely powerful King, me! So they sent me a golden statue of my glorious self to repay their debts! Hahahahaha!"

Ludwig said absolutely nothing.

"In any case," Bowser said, "The strategy will have to be changed thanks to Inauro not owing up to me."

"The intellect of the masses have been dumbed down sufficiently." said Ludwig. "We may not be needing the weapons when the time comes after all."

"They'll snap out of it," argued Bowser. "And we'll have to squash them. Remember the incident we had earlier?"

"Larry is far more intelligent than most, and is part of us now."

"Ludwig," said Bowser, "Never forget that I am the most intelligent Koopa in the Koopa Kingdom. Since I'm the king, I know exactly what will happen."

"Of course."

"And do not play me for a fool. I know Iggy has a copy of the manuscript."

"He does?" Ludwig said rather startled. This was most unfortunate news.

"Soon after I returned, I saw a yellow flash in Iggy's tower. That type of light is only seen on teleportation spells. He followed us and I know it." 

There was a moment of silence. Ludwig slurped down the remnants of his 2nd bowl of soup. Bowser swallowed a dozen bananas in his hand down simultaneously. 

"He cannot simply be exterminated now." said Ludwig. "However, if he remains within the current setting, there is a great chance the truth will be unveiled to the others."

"Indeed," muttered Bowser.

"Although, he is among the smartest of the Koopalings-"

"Ludwig," said Bowser, "One is enough. Two is pushing it, I didn't like it, but I had to keep the status quo. But three? Three is ridiculous!"

Ludwig had never liked the "one is enough" rule. If he had been a caring father, the entire family would've known long ago what was going on. It showed how much he cared about his 7 firstborn.

"Alright," said Bowser, apparently done thinking, "Capture him and hold him on the 8th dungeon level. We'll figure out what to do with him later." Bowser stood up from his throne. "But right now, I'm needed at Headquarters for another stupid meeting. I hate having short lunches!"

"At the very least," said Ludwig, "You'll have plenty of females to observe."

Bowser laughed. "That never gets old!" He left the room, with his servants re-entering to take care of the mess he left behind, in the form of various fruit juices and banana peels.

Ludwig sat up on the couch. Iggy's retrieval had been ordered, but he was not sure of Bowser's intentions. He honestly didn't want to know what they were in any case. If he was going to take the final step, it was going to be now.

Ludwig fished in his vest for his wireless communication device. He never properly gave it a name, despite it being an invention of his. Perhaps it was the fact that he never showed it to anyone. But in any case, he spun the dial in the center and fished through his vast list of contacts. Finding his desired pick, he dialed the address, and a holographic figure of a red paratroopa appeared a few inches above the device. 

"General Flutter," said Ludwig, "I must relinquish you of your current responsibility, and ask of your help in a classified matter."


	6. Flight into Rapture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inside a Koopa Mart, Bowser Junior runs across Morton and Roy who to his surprise invites him to the Golden Koopa for the evening. Meanwhile, Iggy arrives back from the past and finds two messages on his answering machine, one of which serves as the spark for greater trouble.

Located on the 21st floor of Bowser Castle was the largest Koopa Mart that lay within the borders of the Koopa Kingdom. With 33 aisles, the Mart housed some items not found anywhere else within the so-called Mushroom World. Bowser Jr. was always in awe whenever he entered the store. Perhaps it was the fact that the Mart itself was located within the walls of Bowser Castle itself. Only the denizens of the great Keep could shop there, being a privilege in its own right to buy such luxurious items.

Aisle 23 was one of the busiest aisles in the store, with nothing but alcoholic beverages. Junior had a hard time walking through it, but at the very least he blended in. It made it easy for him to grab a sixer without being noticed. While he wasn't old enough to drink, that of course didn't stop him from trying. But his victory in grabbing that Dry Bone's soon faded when he heard the loud chatter of two people in front of him. They were unmistakable. Junior looked and saw Roy and Morton with a big carriage filled with 12 packs and sixers. Junior was reluctant to talk to most of his brothers, as he wasn't very well liked within the family. 

"Hey..." said Morton, looking own in Junior's basket, "Looks like the pipsqueak gave up on life."

"Yeah," muttered Junior, "I was going to waste myself, then jerk off to Big Bertha before passing out."

Roy and Morton looked at each other. The latter shrugged before asking "You mean you never like, socially interacted with her?"

"Of course not Morty," said Roy. "He's a closet homofag." 

"But he drinks, so he's in." said Morton as Roy muttered to himself.

"In on what?" asked Junior.

"The real world." Both nodded and Roy crossed his arms. "Tonight. Koopahari Ruins. Starts at Twilight. Be ready for 6:30."  
Junior shook his head. "Listen, I don't do drugs or any of that crap!"

"We don't either," replied Morton. "Only those losers on the lower levels do any of that shit, toking it up, fucking themselves with glowsticks, retarded stuff. I don't think we're that retarded. But anyways, seeing someone who jerks it to Big Bertha and never meets her depresses me, so you're coming along." Roy nodded in agreement.

"Well...erm..." Junior stuttered. "Um...Ok, fine."

"That's da spirit!"

* * *

With a flash of yellow light, Iggy Koopa reemerged in his tower after a hectic journey through a part of his past history. Exhausted, he re-sheathed his wand and collapsed upon his couch, too tired to move. Visions of what he experienced passed through his mind like a blur as he stared blankly at his sphere-like TV in front of him. His eyes were open; the world was not as it seemed. It was just as Larry had warned for years. 

Larry! Iggy suddenly remembered that Larry had wanted to talk to him about the manuscript. After fishing for his cell, he autodialed Larry's number, but not before his stomach began to growl. He got up and headed to his kitchen, thinking about what to have.

"We're sorry, but this number is no longer available."

Iggy looked at his phone. To say this wasn't normal was obvious. Larry almost always knew what he was doing, but still...things have been very unsettling lately. 

Listening to his stomach, he took out some of his instant macaroni & cheese from the freezer and nuked it. 30 seconds later, the microwave dinged. Retrieving his scorching meal, he sat on a bar stool and ate on the center island of his kitchen. Iggy engulfed it as fast as he could, at least to his tolerance of scorching food. After downing a glass of cold water, he curiously glanced at his answering machine. To his surprise, the little red light was slowly blinking, indicating messages. Iggy got up and walked over to it, pressing a button. The machine beeped as he listened in anticipation. 

"Line 1, 2 messages."

"Hey Iggy, it's Larry. Yeah I know its been a while, and it seems you know a bit more than I do. Well, you've gotten closer to where I am. It's not far now."

Iggy paused the recording as he heard heavy footfalls of soldiers beneath him. As far as he knew, he did not order any squadron to his location. That meant only one thing. 

He quickly unpaused it. "Listen, the knowledge that you have now does not go unnoticed. In time, either Bowser or Ludwig will nap you, like they did to me. Don't get too scared about it. Hell, you shouldn't be scared at this point. You know what's going on, and you're going to learn something even greater."

There was a pause. "They probably took everything by now, but...they couldn't have found it. I left you a key to our real history, your guide into the perfect world. Go into my room and look for the dresser next to my computer lab. On the top right hand drawer, you'll find the back of it to be a little loose. It's in there. 

"Of course, if you turn back now, or decide to share this information with our siblings, the penalty is death. But you probably know that by now, so the last thing I'll say is this: trust your intuition. I know it sounds stupid, but I think you'll be surprised. Good luck."

"Message received Friday, 5:12 PM."  
"Greetings Ignatius. This is the first. I sincerely hope I'm not taking time from your schedule, but I have an urgent request. It seems that something amiss has occurred to Lawrence this afternoon. Whether by tragic affairs with our father or from another external circumstance, he has vacated the castle. Fortunately, I have managed to triangulate his current position and require your assistance in obtaining him. Please drop by my residence at your earliest convenience. I would advise arriving no later than sunrise, as transportation by evening and early morning hours would be the...ideal choice."

"Message received 5:59 PM."

Iggy rubbed his eyes. The footsteps were much louder now and it wouldn't be long before the soldiers would arrive. He tried to connect the dots in his head. More than likely, Bowser and/or Ludwig ordered his capture...which meant that he had indeed been compromised earlier. But what irked him more was Ludwig's invitation. It smelled like a trap. 

In any case, Iggy knew that there was only one safe option. Taking his wand, he murmured a spell and made the Doomsday Manuscript dematerialize and flow into the yellow gem of his wand. After dealing with the evidence, Iggy cast his more potent teleport spell and was gone from the room in mere seconds.

Moments later, troops burst through his door. Koopatrols, Magikoopas and Paratroops filed into the room with General Flutter appearing through the door last. He looked distressed.

"He was here just a moment ago," he muttered, looking at the empty bowl of Mac & Cheese in front of him. 

"We're detecting an magic signature." said a Magikoopa, using his wand to search the room. 

"You know what to do." said Flutter. The Magikoopa began to cast a spell.  
Iggy successfully teleported into Larry's room and was shocked at what he found.

The room was completely bare, devoid of all furniture, electronics, computers, everything. His massive computer lab, which included over 8 computers with 16 servers, was completely gone. Even his famous plant collection was gone, replaced with only shadows and dust.

Iggy felt dismayed. The more and more he delved deeper into this, the angrier he got. Not to mention that Larry's departure went completely unannounced, but the fact that the agency who removed all his belongings in one day must have been one impressive agency. But the fact remained: the dresser that Larry had previously mentioned was no longer there. Thinking to himself, Iggy walked over to the former location of Larry's dresser, which was situated next to his former computer lab. He sighed. What would he do now? He had assumed that the key held all the information about this mess. He didn't feel secure without it. Plus, with the castle's troops out to capture him, Iggy knew that it wouldn't be long before they found him. His journey could not end like this.

As he walked away from the used-to-be dresser, he saw something that caught his eye. On the backwall, there was a very tiny outline of a square no more than 3 inches on either side. Iggy walked towards it and inspected it. He had always believed that no one could out koop Larry Koopa. He hoped he was right. He stuck a few claws into the crevice and managed to pop the board out. The inside ran only 4 inches deep and housed what appeared to be a type of SD Card, which was about an inch long.

Before he could think about implementing the chip in his Portable computer however, he heard the thumps and soldier's feet approach him, as well as what sounded like several chain chomps. "So, its a trap after all," he said. Putting the 3 inch board back into place, he though about what to do next. He decided it was too dangerous to warp back inside his room and tried to think of a different location, but there was a sudden knock on the door. Iggy froze.

"Larry Koopa, the Flutter Division would like to have a word with you."

* * *

Flutter and his troops waited behind Larry's door for a moment, but received no response. One of the Koopa Troopa's shook his head.

"I repeat, the Flutter division-"

"Break it down," intervened Flutter. The troops then cleared a pathway for a Thwomp, who smashed into the door, ripping off its hinges with minimal effort. Flutter followed after the Thwomp's entrance and looked completely puzzled. The infantry looked shocked.

"W-what happened here?" asked one. "Did Larry move out?"

"I heard that he wasn't getting along with King Bowser lately."

"I did not receive orders for his vacation." said Flutter.  "He did this on his own, but enough about him. Why isn't Iggy here?"

"We did not detect an exit signature." said a Magikoopa. "He did pass through this room a few moments ago."

"Look!" a Koopa Troopa said, pointing out the window.

* * *

Iggy didn't even look back as he bolted across the castle precipice.  He knew that trap wasn't for him, but something else was going on. While Larry had his own problems to deal with, Iggy wondered if--

His thought was cut off when a magic blast hit the wall mere inches from him, throwing him forward. He looked behind him and saw several Magikoopa's advancing towards his position, followed by many other Koopa troops. 

"Okay, maybe not." said Iggy as he dashed down the castle walls. He grabbed his yellow-gemmed wand and prepared to cast a spell as he ran, but in an instant, the ground broke from under him and something of immense size hurled him into the air.  

Iggy recognized it as the reverse thwomp, one of Bowser's newest enemies. Instead of slamming down on opponents, it launched upwards and slammed them into ceilings or off cliffs. But it didn't matter in either case. With his summoning complete as he fell through the air, Iggy pointed his wand at the thwomp and watched a yellow whirlwind destroy the thwomp into large chunks of rock. The advancing troops came to a standstill, trying to avoid the falling debris. 

The blast, however had caused Iggy to fly further than originally intended, and he soared past the end of the higher castle walls of Larry's portion of Koopa Castle towards the lower castle walls of, coincidentally, Ludwig's portion. Part of the elder Koopaling's portion of the castle ran alongside one of the many lava rivers in Dark Land, breeding an excessive host of hotheads, firehurdles and many other such creatures. 

Iggy managed to land on an empty platform on all fours with relatively little injury. Getting up, he realized that he was in Ludwig's territory now, and were going to heat upsoon , literally.

Avoiding the fiery lava river to his left, he began to platform his way across the wall, but he soon heard some shouting from behind him.

"I see him! Let's go around the other way."

"Shit." muttered Iggy, and he quickened his pace.  From what he knew of Ludwig's territory, the lower walls were connected at both ends by the higher walls. But he also knew of some shortcuts on this level, if only he could--

"There he is!" shouted a voice in front of him about 50 feet. It was a Koopa dressed in blue armor, definitely one of Ludwig's troops. "The orders are to capture him on sight! Get him!"

About a dozen troops headed towards him as Iggy tried to think of what to do next. As he looked around, he noticed a faint blue light on the wall next to him. Pushing on it yielded nothing. Thinking, he again took out his wand and muttered a spell. As he expected, the wall faded away, revealing a narrow passage that led upwards. He quickly passed through and the wall reappeared behind him.

The blue armored Koopa reached his position moments later. "Oh, where did he go?" he muttered as he and his team searched for him.

"Nevermind him." came a voice on his intercom. "The Royal Guard of Bowser has been spotted advancing towards our territory. Head towards the southern line immediately to rendezvous with 3rd and 4th divisions."

The Koopa looked nervous, but regained his composure. "Roger that."

* * *

Iggy squeezed through the passageway, which was as narrow as his person. The more he advanced into his territory, the more he regretted ever heading to Larry's room in the first place. Yet, despite this, he felt like he was doing the right thing, but he couldn't explain it.

"How the hell am I doing the right thing?" he thought to himself as he climbed the ups and downs of the passage. "I've been a tool this entire time to accomplish their own ends." He shook his head. "I won't allow this to go on forever. When this is over, I have to make my own plan."

When this was over, when he figured out what was really going on, he was going to make his own initiative. He knew that Bowser hid many secrets from the people, but planning to subdue them for his own end was beyond Iggy's line. 

The marching of soldier's feet above him interuppted Iggy's thoughts as he climbed to the top of the latest wall in the passage. Ludwig was getting serious now, and had apparently sent his alpha divisions to his own territory just to find him. Iggy knew that the only way out of his territory now were through the underground cavities. Larry's territory was off limits now, so his only chance was to head into Wendy's territory, Ludwig's other neighbor. At least he was on neutral terms with her.

He had just decided his plan when he ran into a problem: the passageway came to a dead end.  On the ceiling was a manhole, one that was making noise as the soldier's metal boots step on it as they passed. 

What was he going to do now?

Soon enough, the soldier's feet suddenly stopped. "Attention!" yelled one, and all boots simultaneously hit the ground, sounding like an earthquake to Iggy as he stood there, unmoving. Nothing happened for some time. Regaining some of his senses, he started to look for a possible secret way out. 

"The most high, 14th Heir of the Great One, King Bowser Koopa has ordered the arrest of Prince Ignatius Koopa for violation of the sovereign code chapter 24, spying of confidential operations, and treason."

"Bullshit." he muttered as he angrily tried to find any openings in the wall. He backtracked a little, and much to his relief, found what he was looking for. 

"We are well aware of the order," said a decorated Koopa, stepping forward from his division. "We have likewise begun a cease and desist order on all of Prince Ignatius's operations, domestic and international. We are handling the situation."

The black-armored Koopatrol did not look pleased. "Prince Ignatius has been tracked, by intelligence, to this location. This area will be searched by my division and swept clean from any possible...intrusions."

But before the Koopatrol could bark out orders, Ludwig's divisions suddenly readied their guns across the line.

"That is a direct violation of Section 42." said the decorated Koopa, preparing his gun. "Unless under Emergency Alert, no territory's troops may invade another's, including the Royal Guard, Elite Guard and the Grand Army. Cease and Desist immediately."

The Koopatrol hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and made a hand signal. The soldiers readied their guns and pointed them at Ludwig's divisions in front of them.

"Very well," said the Koopatrol. "Have it your way." His division opened fire, spraying bullet bills this way and that as the defenders ran for cover. Cannons on Ludwig's tower fired powerful laser shots that clean cut the ranks of the Royal Guard, weakening their position.

Flutter's troops stopped short after seeing the lasers in action.

"Retreat! Retreat!" he ordered, and his forces moved back the way they came. 

And as Iggy emerged from a manhole at the other side of the tower, he knew that he came out at the right time. With both sides distracted, he had a chance at making it into Wendy's territory. 

As he closed the manhole cover, he heard a beeping noise. Turning, he saw the manhole beeping with a blue light. He tried to figure out what that meant, but a tower door opened and Iggy quickly turned around. It was a Koopa, presumably a butler, dressed in a tuxedo and with an aristocratic expression. 

"You're a tad late." he said, with a motion of his arm. "His majesty has been expecting your arrival for some time." 

Quickly making a decision, Iggy walked inside the tower as the butler closed the door behind him. 

"Please follow me, your majesty." said the butler, walking down the hallway. Iggy shook his head and tried to regain his senses. So, Ludwig wasn't his enemy after all? Then what was all that fighting about? To...protect him?

He wasn't sure anymore. But he was sure of his drowsiness, which made him realize that he had gotten no sleep since this entire adventure began. It had begun to take a toll on his thinking. Iggy scratched his head, suddenly feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. It was amazing how he didn't feel this earlier. He supposed that if someone was really immersed in something, bodily effects could be ignored.

The two came to the central courtyard of Ludwig's Tower, which housed a giant statue to the Crown Prince himself, carved from Bronze. It was about 2½ stories high, just below the ceiling of the third story, which was carved into the shape of a golden dome. The cross-shaped area was littered with Koopa's of all types, walking this way and that.

The butler turned to the right and walked towards the northeast. He stopped at a wall and placed a claw within one of the stone groves. Stones slid back, revealing a small elevator.

"This will take you directly to the E section. I do hope you enjoy your stay." He motioned Iggy to climb aboard. Iggy looked that the contraption a bit perplexed, then walked aboard. As soon as he did, the door shut and the elevator began to ascend.

Iggy leaned back on the wall. He began to wish that he never realized the last time that he slept. His body was feeling the affects, especially after his escape from Larry's room. His legs felt weaker with every passing second. A part of him wished he made that frozen steak dinner instead of the Mac and Cheese that he quickly prepared, but time was against him in that circumstance in any case. 

He tried to think of his next plan, but with the combination of exhaustion and feelings of hunger, he was left with a dead intellectual mind and crucified logic. But there was one thing, one feeling that he was certain of, and that was about Ludwig. He knew he was saving his skin from Bowser in any case, despite the order for his arrest. But he didn't know why, and couldn't think of a reason.

The elevator doors finally opened, revealing a dimly lit corridor. He walked into it, seeing many other elevator doors lining the walls down to his right. But in front of him was a staircase that led upwards, and knowing that Ludwig's room was at the top of the tower, he followed up. 

Soon enough, the wall opened on the left to a beautiful panorama view of the night sky hovering over the castle below. On the surface, the firefight continued, but it was becoming clear that the Royal Guard was in a retreat, unable to handle the photon lasers that constantly bombarded them. 

The stairwell curved up and to the right at this point, and ended at a balcony that overlooked the greater part of the evening sky, which was becoming increasingly red. A volcano must of erupted along the Koopahari chain, Iggy thought.

The other side of the balcony led to a set of 2 stainless steel doors, each adorned with the imprint of Ludwig's mug. Sighing, Iggy walked up to the door and stopped. In all honesty, Iggy expected anything from his oldest sibling. Anything from a firefight from the get go, to an evening with tea and crumpets, all the way to him not being there at all. As a result, he couldn't expect anything.

He knocked on the door.


	7. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After reaching the top of Ludwig's tower, Iggy is forced to have a chat with his older brother which turns in surprising directions. Meanwhile, Lemmy gets tipsy with Wendy and her friends until Roy decides to call them resulting in a change of plans.

The battle was mostly over now; the Royal Guard had mostly retreated and the 4th and 5th Divisions reestablished their lines of defense. But the opening of his doors stirred Ludwig from his thought as he turned to meet his visitor.

It was Iggy, who looked like he had run across the Mushroom World. His posture was also left to be desired, but considering the circumstances...

"Greetings, Ignatius." said Ludwig, walking from his window to meet his sibling. "I have been expecting your arrival for some time. Your delay is quite understandable, so please make yourself comfortable."

Iggy however, shot him a look. "Why should I?" he muttered irritably. "I came here to learn what's going on, not to have tea and biscuits as I'm wanted by the entirety of Bowser's army."

Ludwig smirked. "I believe you can trust me, because when I say make yourself comfortable, I mean it."

Iggy scoffed. "So, I don't have any other choice?"

"Not at this moment in time. I suggest relaxing. You can trust me, your person is quite safe and secure at this location...for the time being."

Iggy said nothing as he surveyed the room. It was circular in shape and poorly lit, with the only light coming from Ludwig's window at the other end, but many black and white curtains lined the outer sections of the room. In the center were a few leather sofas surrounding a large table which housed much food with delicious aromas.

Ludwig looked back at Iggy. "Ah yes, this room was one of many recently refurbished by Stayler and Co. I say the quality of their extensive work is top notch, especially to my standards of quality control and design."

Iggy finally walked to one of the sofas and collapsed on it, too tired to straighten himself out. He had so many questions. Where would be begin? Then he remembered the Doomsday Manuscript, the document that had started all of this. He especially remembered the old Koopa's when he traveled to Inauro's Koopa Empire. Was what he said...?

Ludwig took the sofa across from him and took one of the soups off the table. He ate quietly, but strangely did not say anything.

"What the hell is going on here..."

"Eat." said Ludwig, sounding more like an order. "And if you believe that I poison my own food, only Bowser does such things."

Iggy took a sandwich from the table and nibbled at it. It was turkey pastrami with swiss. After downing a glass of red wine in silence, he managed to sit up. He looked at Ludwig, who was still slurping away at his soup. 

"What's the real purpose of the Doomsday Manuscript?" asked Iggy, not waiting any longer.

Ludwig looked at him. "The Doomsday Manuscript was written in the Age of Inauro to, essentially, preserve the age itself in the future by providing a means of time traveling to its current place in time. Specifically, it uses a High Elite white spell of time travel and decipher blood."

"Sorry..." muttered Iggy. He tried to think. "What I meant was, why did you want the manuscript so much?"

"Ah." Ludwig put down his soup and took a plate of wafers. "There are many wonders in the ancient world. I myself was interested in their more...luxurious devices, but his majesty tends to beeline towards the greatest destructive potential."

"Weapons?"

"You smoke?" Ludwig asked, holding out a cigar.

"Almost never."

"Its a Hoyo De Montoya, one of the finest cigars in this world."

"That's alright." replied Iggy, reaching for another glass. "What are the weapons for?"

Ludwig put the cigar back inside his pocket. "The bigger the paranoia, the bigger the weapons."

"What does that mean?" asked Iggy.

"It means precisely what I said." Ludwig pressed something under the cushion which set off a multitude of contraptions: a leg rest which propped up his feet, the arm rest to his right propping up and opening revealing a mini fridge, as well as the sofa itself starting to quietly hum as Ludwig laid back, very much enjoying his leg massage. Iggy could only raise his eyebrows at the spectacle. 

"It's under your person." said Ludwig, pointing at Iggy's cushion. After feeling a bit, he pressed it and underwent the same routine. After this, there was silence for some time.

"There is much paranoia in this world, Ignatius." said the crown prince. "Most do not even know why they feel it, let alone understand why it exists. Most learn to cope with it, following their peers in a ritual of endless sensual pleasure."

"Oh, am I getting a philosophy lesson now?" mused Iggy. 

"Well, you're not going anywhere outside of my domain for the time being, unless of course you desire arrest from Bowser's unruly subordinates, so I figured we could have a bit of a chat on things." replied Ludwig. "And besides, the very fact that I'm housing you as a guest here directly violates the 3rd amendment section 2. In other words, I'm taking great liberties in making sure that you are not arrested."

"So you're going to try to convince me to hand over the manuscript again?" said Iggy. "Is this what all of this is about? I know you're in league with Bowser. I bet it wouldn't matter if I complied or not, I'll be arrested in the end."

Ludwig suddenly burst out laughing, making Iggy do a double-take. "What now?" he muttered.

"Your thought process is exactly the opposite of what reality really is. I don't want the Doomsday Manuscript. I really don't need it. The person who wants the manuscript is Bowser. I'm simply following orders."

"Uh-huh." Iggy started to wonder if a few shots of Brandy would boost his current state. He scanned the table, but didn't see much hard liquor around.

"To be honest, the only reason Bowser wants that particular manuscript is because he doesn't want you to know what's on it."

"A little too late on that one." sad Iggy, smirking. 

"Then it seems our chat is about to get a lot longer," said Ludwig. "Do you want anything in particular in the meantime? I have most of the major brands..." 

"I may as well have some Chortelloux before I'm executed for treason or other such nonsense. Seeing how expensive it is, you probably have it."

"Don't worry about that. At this rate, an execution is impossible." He got up and walked to a rather boring part of a wall that lay behind him. After seemingly pressing something nearby, much of the wall was suddenly thrown back revealing a very large collection of liquor bottles, even some steel kegs that were tucked away at the bottom.

"Wow..." Iggy murmured. "Didn't know you were a heavy drinker."

"Being the Crown Prince of the Koopa Kingdom means to have a very large amount of dubious responsibilities," said Ludwig. "And after listening to the world's most corrupt dictator day after day pronouncing his inarguable beliefs upon the nation and ordering his minions to do his bidding, it is natural to start a collection such as mine.  Besides, The pay for being Crown Prince is quite extravagant. Oh, what's this?" Ludwig looked at a particular bottle. "I never finished it." he murmured to himself. "Here's a good place to."

"Finished what?" said Iggy.

"The best brandy in the world." Ludwig closed the wall and came back over to the table.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Iggy. "Aria Carant is one of the most expensive these days. They go for hundreds a bottle. Figures that you would have it."

"This particular one is aged 50 years." said Ludwig. "The retail value is around $2300, $2500 a bottle or so."

"Jesus." Ludwig poured them both a glass. "I'm afraid we never finished this one from a few nights ago."

"We?"

"Oh sorry, I was referring to the party that I hosted here. It was my turn and of course, I tend to bring out some of the best that I have, as far as drinks go. Ideally, it is perfectly appropriate to serve the best drinks for the best women you can find. Of course, Bowser's best woman is Peach, that itself is largely known. But she isn't a fan of my Brandy collection, sadly. She prefers vodka."

"Wha...?" Iggy narrowed his eyes. "You mean Peach was here?"

"Of course, she comes here regularly." said Ludwig. "She and Bowser are great partners after all."

Iggy lost his thought process for a moment and said nothing. Ludwig continued. "She's been coming here ever since Bowser tried to take control of the Galaxy of course. So for a few years now. She is indeed a very good friend of mine and she often brings some wonderful pies. I really like her Apple Strawberry pie especially, though I think she added something else to spice up the flavor in that one."

"What in the hell is going on?" Iggy said to himself. He looked at his glass of brandy and thought for a second that he had slipped into an alternate reality. While he didn't doubt the best brandy in the world, he knew he still had his senses.

"What do you mean?" asked Ludwig, seemingly clueless.

"Bowser kidnaps Peach as ransom for her Kingdom." said Iggy. "It's always been like that."

"Ah, those were the old days, the days where the divide between states still existed. That was before I discovered what was coming."

Iggy had a feeling he knew what Ludwig was talking about after what he discovered in Inauro's Kingdom, but he decided to play stupid until the very end. "What, a great geomagnetic storm?"

"Not quite." Ludwig looked toward the window. The sounds of battle were long gone, ended somewhere in their conversation. It was now very quiet, with the occasional gust of breeze on the curtains.

Ludwig downed a good portion of his brandy before setting the glass on the table. "Considering you've been into the past, you probably know what I'm talking about."

"Drat." Iggy thought to himself. He tried to think of something. He noticed that since the battle had long ceased outside, Ludwig definitely had something else in mind for him, otherwise the conversation would've ended long ago. While Iggy didn't completely trust him at this point, he decided to take the plunge.

"The end of the world I take it," replied Iggy, "And the best ways to counteract a rioting population from an event."

"In a way," said Ludwig, "But not entirely. Technically, this isn't going to be the end of the world by any means. The phrase refers to our current state of civilization and not the planet itself, although that too will be greatly effected."

"And what can cause an entire end of a civilization?" asked Iggy. "There are many possibilities, including disease, famine, earthquakes, volcano's, supervolcano's are a good reason."

"All of those are very real possibilities." Ludwig poured himself another glass and began drinking from it again before pausing.

"Right...so there's something greater than a supervolcano that's headed this way?" said Iggy. "A meteorite impact maybe?"

"Even bigger." said Ludwig. "I found this object a few years ago after Bowser's attempt to control the Galaxy. It was when I was taking a well deserved break from my mechanical projects by studying astronomy. That was around the time when I spent much of my days inside the new observatory that I had built for myself. 

At the time, I was cataloging the planets that were known in our current solar system and was even discovering new moons that accompanied them. As you can imagine, the Magikoopa's were ecstatic with all those finds and begged me to continue, so I did. Of course, I received much compensation for it, but that's besides the point. I believe it happened soon after I confirmed the existence of the 8th planet.

It was a late evening and I had been drinking a bottle of Sermen's...Gold Label I believe. I looked into the telescope for the first time that evening and was bombarded with the color of orange. I was a bit confused and first assumed that one of the lenses had gotten dirty. Therefore I took apart a good majority of the telescope and inspected the lens for any contamination but did not discover any. I thoroughly washed them in any case and reinstalled the lenses. But I was met with the same orange hue as before. I then had the inclination to zoom out and that was when I was baffled from what I saw.

It isn't a very well known legend, but it is known amongst the elderly scholars. I had heard of rumors of this object before from them but dismissed them, thinking that they were impossible. Oh how humbled I was when I came crawling back for answers, though I suppose it isn't my fault. Only a very wise mind can believe this without any direct prove of its existence. Fortunately, they agreed to help my predicament and I learned much of this objects past history with our race as well as its orbital pattern and rate of rotation. When I was ready, I presented the information to King Bowser and that was when all of this started."

"'When all of this started'?" said Iggy. "And why would something like a new planet be that big of a deal, anyways? Sure, it would make the news and would be heralded as a great discovery, but I obviously haven't heard anything about it until recently and I'm almost always told about these things. Why is this being covered up?"

Ludwig got up from his seat and walked towards the open window. He looked at the stars for several moments. "Why is this being covered up?" Ludwig said to himself, repeating the question. "That question has no one true answer to it. It's all very complicated."

"Then tell me the basics of it at least."

"Yes, you now have the right to know." Ludwig said quickly. "I cannot deny you that right, so I will give you a brief synopsis of the situation."

"Right?" Iggy mimicked. 

"The main reason of the cover up is not because of you or me or for the rest of our family, although they do play a certain role within it. The main reason is the entire population of the world."

"What?!"

"In the past, it has been proven time and time again that when faced with a certain inescapable doom or calamity, when faced with that certain test of character, the general populace fails that test and loses all sense of conscious control over themselves. They become insane, they riot, they kill each other and themselves. Do you know why?"

"Uh..." Iggy was clearly thrown a curve ball. "They lose conscious control because their entire reality has fallen apart in such-"

"Not entirely." interrupted Ludwig. "The loss of conscious control is a byproduct of something else entirely.  That something else is a fundamental aspect of the common goer, and it is insecurity."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Iggy," began Ludwig, "This has everything to do with you. You are upon the threshold of an entire reality that is invisible to most of the world's eyes. It's all for a good reason, it's because they also know what is going to occur."

"And the rest of the population doesn't deserve to know?!" Iggy shouted. "What are they going to do whenever this "thing" hits? I'm as clueless as they are! Do they dig themselves some caves in the mountains? Or maybe we should all build spaceships and fly into outer space until this "thing" passes?"

Ludwig smirked to himself and looked up at the stars again.

"You didn't even tell me what this thing is going to do yet!"

"Here is the easy answer to that inquiry." said Ludwig. "It will cause all of the symptoms you have guessed earlier, plus many more you are unaware of. Everything expected to occur within a pole shift will occur."

"A pole shift? Then why the hell are you covering this up?! You need to give them time to prepare!"

Ludwig shook his head. "You need to approach this from the mind of a governor than from the mind of a scientist, Iggy." Ludwig gradually walked back to the table. "Let's say that, for example, King Bowser announces that the world was in the path of a mighty planet which would cause earthquakes, floods, unexpected weather, every volcano within the past 10,000 years to erupt and more importantly, a pole shift which will rip this planets crust from the mantle and swing against the currents of the oceans, creating massive tsunami's as high as 60 feet that will inundate nearly every coastline on this planet. Do you think the population of the Koopa Kingdom, or the population of this world for that matter, will remain confident in their leader's ability to keep them safe during these events?" Ludwig sat back down and sipped from his glass. "And unfortunately, that wasn't just a simple example."

Iggy at this point took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He stared down at his glass of brandy again. The life that he knew was gone 5 minutes ago and he knew it. Nevermind his morals which told him to preach this information to the masses, as that was no longer an option. It was as if the curtain behind the world was unfurling before him to reveal something uglier than what he ever imagined. But he wondered.

"What I know now cannot be taken back." he said as a statement of fact.

"That is correct," said Ludwig, "As we've already gone too far into this."

"And this planet's orbit is in the way of our orbit," quietly said Iggy, "That can be the only reason why all of this is occurring. The two crusts of each planet are magnetically aligned...and the smaller one loses."

"The planet has been called The Great Destroyer over the ages, and with good reason."

"Yeah..." Iggy trailed off. It fit with what the old Koopa in the past had said. He was too stunned to protest any longer.

"I would tell you more of its history, but that would take several hours," said Ludwig, "And I have already made this chat longer than I had expected. And there's also the fact that you are now amongst the world behind the curtain."

"Great," said Iggy sarcastically. "I am so thrilled."

"Very few people are thrilled, Iggy. Just know you're not the only one that knows this information and wishes to tell the world to prepare."

"So why don't they? Oh let me guess, they are executed?"

Ludwig nodded sadly. "The very people we are trying to save are also our greatest threat. It's very paradoxical. Just know that if these commoners know what is to happen, civilization will collapse overnight. That is why they must never know."

"Well, I can't deny that," said Iggy, "But that doesn't stop this from being incredibly wrong." He sighed.

Ludwig took out his personal PDA and tapped a few times onto it.

"What are you doing?" asked Iggy.

"From this moment on, you will become a part of our group. Any person on this planet who knows this information has no choice to this matter, it is mandatory." Ludwig's PDA printed out what seemed to be a small credit card of some type. He handed it to Iggy. "Welcome to the Galaxy."

Iggy looked at it. On the top was the discreet logo of the Galaxy, which was simply the words with the backdrop of a galaxy behind it. Below this was written:

"Iggy Koopa  
4th Prince of the Koopa Kingdom  
President of the Koopa Archaeological Association  
President of the Koopa Chemist Group  
4th Chair, United Inventor's Board

\--KOOPA DIVISION--"

On the back was a thin silver strip at the top of the card. Below this were the words:

"IGGY KOOPA: LEVEL 4 AUTHORIZATION"  
"Sounds like you have a secret society," said Iggy, "Or some type of fortress."

"You have no idea." said Ludwig. "But I'll fill you in on the details as we head to our ship, as we've stayed here long enough." Getting up, Ludwig walked to a corner of the room next to the open window and beckoned Iggy to join him. Thinking, Iggy put the card in his pocket, grabbed the Aria Carant bottle which had yet to be emptied and joined Ludwig. 

"As standard procedure, anything that has occurred in this room never actually occurred." said Ludwig, fiddling with a device on the wall. 

"Of course." said Iggy. "Oh, and I'm going to finish this bottle for you."

Ludwig looked at him for a moment. "Very well," he said pushing a few more keys.

"I just threw my old life away as it is," continued Iggy. "This will give me some sense of dignity, at least."

"In a way, you did." Ludwig pressed a large button and suddenly the floor jerked, eventually gave way and began to descend in a spiral-like fashion. 

"You will still hold all of your old titles in the various organizations that you are enrolled in." said Ludwig. "And your participation will have little change, other than you knowing what is to occur. And yes, there are members even in the organizations you continue to go to that already know this information. However, it is forbidden to speak of this information outside of the Galaxy, with a few exceptions."

"What exactly is this "Galaxy?" said Iggy.

"It is as you said, both a secret society and a fortress." said Ludwig, smiling. "A fortress we are about to visit, in fact."

The pair descended into a very large and well-lit room akin to a garage of sorts. It was filled with very large concrete pillars about 120 ft in length as well as dozens of an assortment of machines, including what appeared to be flying cars, yachts and even spaceships.

"Don't tell me you built all of these." muttered Iggy.

"Ok, I won't then." 

"How much free time do you have?" said Iggy, rolling his eyes. "Jeez, I barely have enough time to build my own car sometimes."

"That will change beginning immediately." said Ludwig. "My vehicles were built by a small construction company that I created and maintain myself. I oversee the entire process to make sure those little minions don't make a single mistake. You can easily do that now as well."

"How??" asked a somewhat baffled Iggy, following Ludwig to  spaceship section of the dock. "There has to be over 30 ships here!"

"When you became a member of the Galaxy, you resigned from the current federal monetary system." said Ludwig. "In place of this, you joined the Galaxy system, which is not based upon any monetary system at all."

"Wait a minute...there's no money?"

Ludwig snapped his finger. "Precisely. It's definitely one of my favorite aspects. Basically, as long as you have that card or a Galaxy-issue PDA, you can buy anything you want at no cost to you. Think of it as an endless supply of blank checks." Smirking, he walked toward a spaceship coated in black paint with blue and silver highlights. "It's a perfectly understandable counterbalance upon knowing the most gruesome truth in the world, don't you think?"  
Iggy frowned. "Hiding the pain with material aspects...I guess there isn't much else to do in that kind of scenario. We'll see what happens."

High up, the door to the spaceship opened from the top and moved down towards Ludwig, protruding from its top a long stretch of metal that stopped when it reached the floor. The metal than folded in upon itself, creating a staircase.

"Fancy." muttered Iggy as he and Ludwig walked up the staircase to the entrance of the ship.

"This is the Ludwig ZSX-1," said Ludwig. "Its my stealthiest ship. No radar in this world can detect it."

"You have a whole class of ships under your name?" said Iggy.

"Of course," he said, reaching the top of the staircase and entering the ship. "Every ship that I own is a Ludwig class. They're mine after all."

"Pfft." Iggy entered the ship. The silver and blue theme predominated the interior decorating with black leather sofa's lining the windows. In the far back was what seemed to be a small kitchen with a sink and two doors to other rooms. 

Iggy followed Ludwig to the cockpit of the machine. It looked surprisingly simple, with only a couple of joysticks and a few screens and buttons.

"The ship usually runs on autopilot," said Ludwig. "And compensates when it's off course. The AI is very well designed, because while it learns from each mistake, it does not think on its own." Ludwig pressed a button on the center of the main joystick. Immediately, the ship powered on and one of the screens flashed with the words "Autopilot."

"May as well settle in for a while, it's a bit of a ride." said Ludwig, heading back to the main cabin with Iggy following him. 

"10 minutes until departure to the Galaxy." said a voice on the intercom.

Before Iggy got a chance to sit down, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Remembering that he had silenced it nearly a day ago, it meant that whoever was calling was important.

"Oh, that reminds me." said Ludwig, seeing Iggy dig his cell out of his pocket. "I have to make a call myself..." He walked back toward the bridge, tapping onto his PDA.

Iggy looked at the front of his cell and saw it was from Penny Crygor. "Great..." he muttered. If she was calling him now, it had to be for a good reason. Penny and Iggy were known to constantly argue about everything at nearly every meeting at the Inventor's Board, so they tended to avoid each other as much as possible.

"Yeah, I'm alive." said Iggy. "Unfortunately for you."

"Awww." she purred, "I thought you had finally died or something. Then I could take your seat on the Inventor's Board and introduce some ideas that are long overdue! Like the Free Energy Propulsion system that you keep delaying because of some miraculous discovery you found, or some other trash."

Iggy rolled his eyes. "That was a pretty important matter. I'm settling things behind the scenes right now."

"Oh right," she said, "You're royalty, so you're probably going to cover it up like you usually do."

"Actually, its not my choice this time, and I'll leave it at that."

"..."

"Why did you call?" asked Iggy. 

"Oh right. I have a little problem with the upcoming meeting. Thing is, the first 3 chairs are not going to be coming."

"I guess that leaves me." frowned Iggy. "And at this rate, I wont be showing either."

"Oh, you're kidding me! How do you expect me to run the entire meeting by myself?"

Iggy laughed. "Says the one who plans on usurping my chair and taking credit for my ideas."

"Shut up! You were the one who took MY free energy idea, patented it and made a line cleaning machines for your little kingdom!"

"Nah, that idea was entirely my own. That was a pretty interesting coincidence though."

"I don't think so. You and your ilk are all sneaky."

Iggy sighed. "Will you please remove that outdated paradigm from your cranium? That was when I was a stupid little kid. The only one that reeks of sneaky these days is Larry." Iggy wondered where the hell Larry was. Did he get caught up in this Galaxy program as well?

"You can't deny what's in your genes, Iggy."

"Yeah. If I were you, I'd cancel the meeting. Since the meeting can be canceled in the absence of the first 5 chairs, you can decide that since you're the 5th chair."

Penny sighed. "Yeah, I guess." There was a moment of silence. "There, it's canceled. So why couldn't you make it this time?"

"Classified."

"Ooh, it sounds like a state secret! Is it some military project?"

"Classified."

"Maybe that hydraulic dam construction?"

"Classified."

"Or maybe...it had something to do with that new find of yours?"

Iggy looked towards the cockpit and saw Ludwig chatting away on his PDA. It was a little risky but he decided to take a gamble.

"Yes, and it led into a classified situation."

"Oh? Can you tell me where you are?"

Iggy knew where this was heading. He had already decided that the best way to take down an organization such as the Galaxy was to take it on from within. But he knew that he couldn't do it by himself. If Larry was caught up in this too, then he had at least one ally, but he couldn't confirm that. He knew that Penny would most likely keep herself out of trouble...after knowing what's going on, but Iggy still didn't feel too sure about that.

"I'm with Ludwig, but the exact location is classified."

"Interesting." It sounded like she was typing something. "He's been doing a lot of unannounced projects lately. Makes me wonder."

Iggy decided to go for it. "Are you really wondering or are you just curious? Because this is serious stuff."

"I don't know if I should get caught up in your royalty games, Iggy."

"It's not the royalty, it's...damn, I can't even tell you that." he muttered, rubbing his forehead. Exhaustion and the past few drinks were getting to him. Sleep was looking very nice right about now.

"You're making this sound like this is the mother of all conspiracies."  
"It is. It technically doesn't even exist, and what I've said about it is complete rubbish."

There was silence on the other end. Finally, Penny sighed. "Are you in trouble?"

"No, the world is in trouble."

"Alright, most of the time, if someone said what you're saying, I'd call them a loony bin. But I guess if its coming from you...how do I get to this information?"

Iggy stared out the window and noticed the secondary thrusters were powered on already. "Go into the KAA server, into the /new/analysis directory. You know my password since you guessed it last week."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"Open the file dmm.png. Print it out, it'll print in two pages, tape them together. Actually, you're human so you can't time travel to the past anyways."

"Time travel using paper? How does THAT work?"

"Its magic. Here's the important thing. As soon as you get onto that server, they will be watching your every move. That's how they'll find you. And when you're found, it wont be long before you'll meet up with me. But I recommend doing what they say until then."

"I have a question." asked Penny.

"Shoot."

"Is this connection secure?"

"My cell phone signal is always encrypted. The only person who could possibly crack it is Ludwig." 

"Oh." 

Iggy looked over at Ludwig and saw that he had stopped talking and was sitting very still with his PDA pressed against his head. He quickly realized what was going on. He felt grateful that he didn't entirely trust Ludwig from the start. He decided to throw him a few loops.

"This is quite the voyeuristic society, is it not?" asked Iggy. He thought he heard Ludwig say "Hm?" in response.

"Oh definitely." said Penny, apparently playing along. "Just the other day, I was talking to one of my friends on the phone and in the background was this quiet yet odd noise with a group of people talking in the background. I swore I heard one of them talk about how hot I was!"

"Speaking of which, do you hear something? Its a very faint but peculiar noise."

"I hear something, but I don't know what it is." This seemed to do it as Ludwig promptly hung up his PDA. 

"They already found you," said Iggy. "It wont be long now."

"I know, I've been tapped for a while. I guess it was inevitable for me to come along, huh?"

Iggy saw Ludwig get up. "Got to go. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. You'll know what I mean later." He hung up.

Ludwig promptly came out of the cockpit looking a little annoyed. 

"I take it you had a bad phone call?" said Iggy.

Ludwig sat down on a chair diagonal to him. "Let me give you a word of advice. You may choose others to bequeath this knowledge to, but it is at your own peril. And we are always watching."

"Oh, so I take it you tapped into our little conversation?" asked Iggy.

"New members are never to be trusted, regardless of who they are. But in any case, potential members are almost always a part of several organizations here on this world before they are even considered. You are lucky in your case as Penny is already part of several and is also one of the top 5 chairs on the Inventor's Board. I have said it myself, that I've always wanted the top 5 chairs to become a part of the Galaxy, so I suppose I can forgive you this time."

Iggy looked at the Aria Carant on the floor. Taking it up, he took a large gulp out of it. "I'm going to be bored as hell if its just going to be me. And I also don't appreciate being watched with everything I do. Will you also spy on me if I decide to defecate in the bathroom?"

"I'm doing my job. It doesn't mean I adhere to it, but from past experience, it is for the better. But I do see your point." He sighed. "Very well, I will lift some of the restrictions off of you. Bowser probably won't be pleased, but I have enough proof to convince him otherwise."

There was a loud beep from the cockpit. "Finally, the engines are ready. I haven't used this ship in some time, so I had to let it go through a few diagnostic tests before flight. Now then, we can finally be on our way." 

"Hey," said Iggy. "Is there a button on this sofa too?"

"Yes, it is also underneath your person." said Ludwig. Iggy felt around for it. Upon pressing it, the sofa threw up its legs and threw down its back simultaneously, making a bed of sorts. He took another sip from the bottle. It was clearly helping him fall asleep after what's happened that day.

"These sofa's are very well crafted," said Ludwig. "They were designed by Jean Foster himself specifically for this unit. They were primarily made for comfort for long hours at a time."

"That almost sounds...gay..." 

"Excuse me, but Jean Foster is hardly gay."

"I meant the interior decorating...talk."

"A typical stereotype. Just because I excel at interior design does not mean that I am a homosexual. I excel at exterior design as well as metaphysical theory and application, astronomy, music theory and composition, robotics, industrial mechanics, plus many many others. I could talk about how the ZSX-1's secondary thrusters once failed to stabilize and misfired, which resulted in the ship spinning in circles for hours."

Iggy laughed his ass off at that comment. "Were you on that one?" he said amidst his laughs.

"Thankfully no. I had managed to hack into the radio transmission frequency that the ship used, so its stealth did not become an issue because I simply executed several commands at a terminal prompt, which resulted in the complete control of the ship from that single terminal prompt. I then slowly guided the ship into docking bay...22B I think it was, by firing the secondary thrusters in short bursts to make up for directional loss, plus the fact that I had deduced at that time which was that the secondary thrusters only misfired when they are fired at their normal automatic ship command, not from a manual command."

Ludwig looked at Iggy, but found him passed out on the sofa with the the bottle in his hand. Considering the day that he had been through, Ludwig wondered how he didn't pass out sooner. "Then again, I tend to ramble." he said to himself. But it didn't matter as much for him, as he still had plenty of time left. He thought about relaxing for a few and not rushing around for once.

After much delay, Ludwig finally went inside the cockpit and made the necessary preparations for departure. "The Galaxy, target course is set."  said the computer. "The Great Destroyer, in 8200 mile orbit. Secondary course set." "ZSX-1 is now set on auto pilot. Enjoy your flight, Ludwig."

Outside of the ship, one of the many docking bay doors opened and gave a green light for takeoff. Soon after, the main thrusters fired in the back of the ZSX-1 and the ship quickly took off from its location, blasting into the sky.

* * *

"Hey Lemmy, can I interrupt your boredom for a sec?"

Lemmy downed his second bottle of beer. Thank god he wasn't driving.

"No, you don't have my permission." Lemmy put his face on the bar table. "My boredom is precious to me..."

"Well," started Wendy, "My friend, like, wants to know what you do for a living. We know that you get easily bored, but that's it."

"Boredom is an experience, and the experience gives me the inspiration." he muttered. "But it is a boring experience." He suddenly jumped up. "But I paint, and do artistic stuff. I used to do theater, but...I think I lost the juice. Now I'm drawing the Koopa Kingdom from the perspective of my safe and secure room window." 

"Oh," he said, remembering something as he opened his 3rd bottle. "I'm also President of the New Freedom. It's an organization that's sick of the corrupt fascist mess that my dad created. We're working to make a new society, actually we already have one, but its like a world within another world and not its own world. It's something like that."

"Wait, are you those gothic guys that are like, pulling people over and selling them weed to join their group?"

"Nah, those guys are fags." said Lemmy. "They have to beg for it. We don't beg, we're organized and we actually have our shit together. Meetings once a week and all that good stuff. Oh, and this is off the record, but we smoke weed there too."

"So you get your great, extraordinary visions of the future from the plants you smoke?"

Lemmy chuckled. "No. It's actually a legit desire of mine. I saw what Dad did to the world as it modernized, and we're not gonna survive the next few decades unless we do something soon." He sipped his beer. "I could talk about it, but it's depressing as hell."

"That's-" Wendy was interrupted by the airship theme which emanated from her cell phone. "Why does this ALWAYS happen when I'm talking to someone?" Sighing, she flipped it open. "Yeah?"

"Sis, I extend forth unto you an invitation of great honor."

"Nice try with the Big Wig impression Roy, but it needs work. It doesn't sound intellectually arrogant enough. Your accent is sort of in the way too." 

"So you're sayin' you don't want to go to the Golden Koopa tonight?" asked Roy.

Wendy sighed. "No, I said you make a bad Ludwig. And why should I go there anyways? That place is wicked expensive."

"I'm payin' for all of ya. Ya I know, the selfish brute is throwing a bone to the dogs. But I've got somethin' to say to all of ya."

"Why can't you just tell me right here?" asked Wendy.

"Cause I'd rather have all of ya in one location. Makes things easier. A LOT easier."  
"Lets see, Roy is calling all of us and paying for all of our meals...that means that something big is going on." Wendy thought out loud.

"I'm callin' all who are...available. You two are da last."

"...Are you getting married or something?"

"You'll see. One of my yachts will swing by where you are. And I know where you are. He'll drive you here, and we'll all have a good time."

"I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Lemmy looked up at her.

"Nah. He should be there in 5 minutes. See you then."

"Bye, Roy."


	8. The Golden Koopa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After completing the call Roy flies his luxury yacht to the Golden Koopa, where he tells them something he received earlier from someone they know.

Roy hung up.

"So, are they going to join us or what?" asked Morton on the sofa across from him. The dull rumbling of the air yacht drowned out the otherwise uneasy silence. "Kylie already fell asleep on your second call."

Roy smirked. "It's cause you didn't give her the Cuerviere like I said you should." He snapped his finger and instantly two beautiful models walked out of a curtained doorway towards him. "See, mine are still awake. It's cause I can do the job. You under perform. You should work on that, bro."

"What?!" Morton said. "Haven't you heard of 'getting rest before the big event?' And besides, it'd be better if we were all here, anyway. There's no need to blow the first load on a yacht."

Roy hummed to himself. "You think Wendy would...?"

"God no," said Morton. "No one fits her sky high bill of ideals. Before any guy can get close to her, she'll be kicking him in the balls."

"Cause I heard a rumor," said Roy, "About Mouser recently."

Morton thought about it. "He is that kind of guy, but I'll tell you what. If that actually does happen and people figure it out, he'd be totally fucked. He'd have his own bombs exploding up his ass."

"And vice versa."

"Wendy is like that anyways. Her kids might as well get used to exploding as it is."

"Did someone say exploding?" came a voice off to the side. They looked and saw a half-asleep Kylie in a pink bathrobe seemingly eyeing the table of liquor between Roy and Morton. "I heard someone say exploding. Did Morton explode already?"

"Nope, I'm still alive!" Morton proudly proclaimed, pouring himself a glass, "But it seems my days are numbered if you're going to the party dressed like that!"

"I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to wear." said Kylie, sitting next to him. "Because that will ruin everything. Heh, actually, I thought about dressing in a bikini and whoring myself in front of you earlier, but something stopped me."

"Good thing you changed your mind. My siblings are headed this way and I would've never heard the end of it!" 

"I wouldn't have minded." grinned Roy.

"And Big Bertha would chew your ass for that." quipped Kylie.

Roy's face twisted into a knot at the sound of that name. "She chews on my ass anyways. She does what she's good at doing."

"Kinky." Kylie grabbed Morton's drink and downed about half the glass. "So we're going to the Golden Koopa, arn't we? Isn't that the place in the Koopahari Ruins?"

"Yeah." muttered Roy. "Even junior is gonna be there. He never fucked a pornstar before and I felt kinda bad."

"Wow, you're awfully nice today, Roy." 

"Heh, nah, I actually have to do this one. I have to talk about this." 

"It's pretty serious, from what he's told me already." Morton said, laying back on the sofa. Roy snapped his finger and the ladies disappeared back behind the curtain where they came. He looked over his shoulder towards a radar-like screen.

"Good guess. We're here."

The long and narrow yacht successfully docked at the Golden Koopa air docks, which was connected with a portion of the Koopahari ruins below. Being one of the largest and most expensive restaurants in the Koopa Kingdom, the Golden Koopa was a popular attraction for much of the upper class, but was also popular due to its political neutrality with the state, becoming a harbor for those who needed asylum. It was built 200 feet in the air over an ancient temple to the god of food and wine, and many explained its success due to that fact alone. Others thought it was because only those who owned air boats or yachts could dine in the highest sections of the restaurants, and many of these were officials in Bowser's cabinet who wanted to speak their mind. Many agreed that the best benefit was the total ban of press coverage. Many high profile koopa's could visit the establishment without having his face appear on TV on every visit.

Roy's personal yacht, a long and skinny boat colored in black and purple, docked at the highest level of the restaurant. After a ramp extended down to the walkway, the trio walked onto the semi-solid ground and made their way to one of the many doors on the upper level. 

"Where is that brat?" Roy muttered to himself, scanning the docks for any sign of her. Amidst all of the people walking to and fro, he finally caught sight of her and Lemmy sitting on a bench facing the main complex.

"Oh look, he finally shows up." said Wendy, obviously annoyed. "You know, I had to tell my friend off for this and cancel an appointment."

"An appointment to go shopping, am I right?" gloated Morton, standing behind Roy. 

"Yeah, with like 10 of my other friends." said Wendy. "But that's okay. One of the girls there kind of irritates me. And it's not like its some meeting with my fashion company."

The walked up a flight of stairs to the highest level of the complex. Several doors all lay in a row. Being the elite suite, usually the wealthy dined at these levels.

"You payed for a suite?" asked Wendy, just noticing the change in her environment.

"Yeah," said Roy, "I was made commander-in-chief. And you think I don't get a good payroll. I bought my yacht only a few days ago. It's worth 226,000."

"There goes Roy, gloating again." said Morton, with Roy smiling. "You know dude, I could gloat about how many mansions I currently own thanks to the zombie viewers that watch my Koopa TV soap opera garbage."

The 5 entered one of the doors and made their way down a black marble hallway.

"Marrying somebody in one of those shows is akin to marrying a zombie koopa to their television for at least 6 months. Let me tell you, their tears are made of gold. I mean literally, just on 9 Lives alone, I've had at least 25 million in sales on paraphernalia alone!"

They made their way into a large and spacious room. Besides that the room was covered in a black marble from ceiling to floor, pillars lined each end with golden bases and unreadable inscriptions etched into the columns. Waterfalls lined the right side of the room, flowing into an artificial river lined by trees and shrubbery that flowed out from the corner of the room. In the center lay a massive circular table in the shape of a half sphere. Niches were carved into the are above the circumference and here the chairs were set up. The left side of the room had windows towards the ground that gave a spectacular view the rest of the restaurant below. 

"There was another show, High Life I think it was...Woah." Morton stopped himself after catching the entire sight of the room. "Isn't this like elite class bro?"

"Damn straight." Roy said, walked to one of the chairs. "This is top of the line. Thought you might like it."

Morton whistled to himself before he and the others took their respective seats. There was silence for a moment. 

"So uh, how do I order my meal?" asked Wendy, looking confused.

"Using the display in front of you." said Roy. "You just surf through the menu's and pick what you want, and they bring it up when its done."

Wendy proceeded to "menu surf" through the system's large selections and Kylie went ballistic over the fact that they had her favorite pizza on the menu. Morton muttered something about having too much too eat.

But Lemmy looked uninterested. With his head in his hand, he continuously stared at the trees next to river on the other side of the room. He had a very peculiar feeling, and he didn't like it. It wasn't the over abundance of extravagance, and it certainly wasn't the food. He had gone to the Golden Koopa a few times the past and thoroughly enjoyed their food. And despite his overall distaste of the overspending of wealth on trivialities, he enjoyed the atmosphere of the room and couldn't complain. But something kept drawing him back to the Yoshi's Isle incident that had occurred a week prior. 

At length, Wendy noticed his apparent boredom. "You're not drunk yet Lem, so somethings going on." 

"I can't shake this feeling...I don't like this."

"Hm?" 

"Or maybe he is drunk and we just don't know it." remarked Kylie.

Lemmy sighed and swirled around to meet the rest of them. "Was thinking about those massive earthquakes last week. There was a string of them at Yoshi's Isle and the lower Mushroom Kingdom."

"Oh yeah..." Morton leaned back in his chair. "That was a headache. We had about 150 amateur callers telling us about this rumble and that smell. Then about who knows how many Yoshi's telling me yoshi this and yoshi that. They forget that their one worded language is a bit hard to understand. But yeah, that was a huge mess. 3 cities down there got leveled to the ground. They say it has something to do with whatever they call that volcano down there. Rumble Grumble? Blurp Slurp? I don't know. But they think the eruptions are triggering all of these quakes."

"Maybe for that region." said Lemmy. "But that doesn't explain the quakes in Diamond City. Or the quakes we've recorded in the Koopa Crags to the north of the castle. This stuff has been bothering me for a while, so I purchased a few toys for my organization and we've been keeping track of all this stuff." 

"...and?"

"Well, there are 14 volcano's going off in the world right now, simultaneously."

"Really." said Roy. "My men told me that they detected 5 of them going off. Might be hazardous for our troops and we made shortcuts on some troop placements, but I didn't get 14."

"The military gets their information from the Koopa Earthquake Bureau. I called them after I found this out and they pretty much denied it."

Roy made a face, but Morton looked interested. "Can you prove that you found 14 of them going off at once?"

"Sure."

"Like, photos of them? Because if Roy doesn't know about it, that means only one thing."

"Yeah, I know. I'm not surprised at all, but still..." He trailed off and there was a moment of silence. "You going to air this?"

Morton sported a toothy grin. "You know me. I try to get through what I can. It's dangerous, but hey, it keeps the ratings up and I know people are always interested in what the government is hiding behind their backs. Just let me know when when you get them."

Roy fiddled with something in his pocket. "Heh, I thought this was gonna be a lot harder." He took out what appeared to be a USB drive and plugged it in next to his display. "But Lemmy took care of the introductions."  
"Introductions?" 

"It's the reason why I wanted to gather everyone today. I received a message from...someone we know about 12 hours ago. He's rather cryptic in his message, but what he says isn't pretty at all. A lot of it has to do with what Lemmy already talked about and I have to thank ya for that, it saves a lot of time. Much of it you shouldn't know at all. I shouldn't know it. But according to him, I should, so the rest of you should too."

He typed in a few keys before a large holographic display appeared in the center of the table. The words "VOICE ONLY" were visible, as well as the name of a file, called "hdfGDussHSus777LKwgdu.km3"

"Woah." said Morton. "This is new. Is this one of the Big Wig's inventions?"

"You betcha." said Roy. 

"Oh man, holographic football." said a voice. "That would be awesome." 

Everyone turned and saw a familiar face walk into the room.

"Junior, you fucking cheapskate." grumbled Morton. "You're lucky you came in now, but you're way late."

"My bad." said Bowser Jr., taking a seat before noticing the holographic display. "All the traffic was backed up to this place and even the fast lane was slow on the highway, and I have a pass for that."

"Probably because Big Bertha's here." said Morton, before getting a nasty stare from Roy.

"Hey Roy, are you sure you want to let the kid know about this?" asked Wendy. 

"Yeah. That's why he's here."  
"How do I order food here?" asked Junior, prompting several sighs throughout the room.

"From the display in front of you." said Lemmy. "Pick whatever, Roy's paying for all of it."

"Okay."

"Alright, knowing that what happens here never happened, let's do this." said Roy. The lights dimmed around the room and Roy started the file.

"Greetings," said a voice. "Do I sound familiar, Roy? I should. I cannot say who I am, but that does not matter. You know who I am. My voice is instantly recognizable, and that is the identification. I could not identify myself here, even in a proxy transmission such as this. Security is tight, but not impossible."

"Larry." muttered Lemmy. Morton shushed him.

"You're probably wondering where I am," said Larry. "Unfortunately, that is classified and I cannot tell you without compromising my position. That would be bad, because I'm in a very good position right now. What I can tell you is that I am the whispering voice behind the curtain, and it would be wise to listen to what I have to say. 

But I suppose I should update on my status first as you're probably wondering why I disappeared. Well, I'm happy to report that I am alive. I can breathe normally and I can walk. Basic things. And by the time you get this message and decode it, I'm still alive. 

You probably noticed that all the furniture in my room was removed, including myself. It's not because I hate you or anything. It's because a new chapter opened up in my life and I was swept off to that place that no one dares speak of. Frankly, its not real. And neither is the Koopa Kingdom. Or the Mushroom Kingdom. Or the Yoshi Islands.  
They are names. What do these names represent? Once upon a time, these names represented a singular organization or government and its populace. The people could confidently go about their daily, menial lives knowing full well that this so-and-so kingdom was going about its business in its intended fashion. They knew what was happening, they knew exactly what their leaders were doing. No scams, no bribes, nothing but pure honestly and love for their fellow koopa, mushroom, yoshi, whatever.

But today, what do these names represent? Things have spiraled far past the original intent of these names and its governments to the point where its all nothing but just a name. It's a name for a population that still believes in a principle of fair governance from a purely intuitive basis.

'Koopa Kingdom' is a name for a population of koopa's that live there. It is nothing more than that, and having been through what I've been through, I 100% agree. The name no longer represents the government. Because there are several. There is one thing that all of these 'names' have in common: they all have one very, VERY large government that takes precedence over the localized government.

Naturally, this heavily blurs the line between states. If all of the states are ruled by this same, large government, then why do these states still exist as sovereign entities? Why weren't there any announcement concerning this change?

There is a simple answer to that. This extremely large government that exerts its rule over nearly all states on this planet does not exist. And no, I'm not drinking anything. The place where I'm at doesn't exist either. That's the official policy. But that's pretty much the low-down of what's happening with the governing bodies of the world at least. There's a big one thats controlling all the little ones, but it also doesn't exist either so no one says anything about it.

I'd tell you more about this government. But to be honest, I've already used a lot of time just with that explanation so I'll just say this. You need to know something to become a part of it."

Roy paused the recording upon seeing a blinking red light on his screen. He pressed it, and immediately the lights came back on and two doors on the other end of the room opened. From them came several waitresses dressed in maid outfits, much to the liking of Roy. Lemmy felt several mental eyeballs roll in the backs of their heads at that moment.

"Brewmaster's Goomburger!" announced one. Morton raised his hand and the Goomburger was brought over to him, along with a bottle of beer.

"The Blooper Special!" announced another. Lemmy waved his hand and a rather large blooper surrounded by cheep cheeps was handed to him.

"Roasted Crab!" Wendy's hand went up almost immediately at the sound of it and the sidestepper entrée went to her.

"Piranha and Nippers!" With the signal from Junior's outstretched hand, a large plate containing the head of a piranha plant with nippers on the side was given to him. 

"Red Hot Wiggler Pizza!" Kylie held up her hand and the darkened remains of an angry wiggler were brought to her, mixed in tomato sauce.

"Last, but not least!" Roy smirked, waving his finger. The waiter brought over a dish that did not look anything Mario-esque whatsoever.

"Enjoy your meals!" the waiters said simultaneously before walking out of the room. 

"Ahh, I haven't had pink nippers in a long time!" exclaimed Junior, but as he looked up, he noticed everyone's heads turned toward Roy. 

At length, Wendy's patience ran out. "Do you mind explaining like, what that thing on your plate is?" she asked.

"This," Roy began, "THIS...is 100% certified Angus Beef."

Roy was met with a multitude of silent yet confused faces, soaking in his boastful announcement. At length, he sighed.

"It's steak."

"Steak?" asked Morton. "What's steak?"

"It's from Earth. Found it when Pops tried to invade it years ago." Roy snickered at the thought. "It's from some animal called a Cow. It's pretty rare around here, but I love it."

"Oh. But it doesn't have beer on it." Morton took his bottle of beer and poured it all over the burger. 

"This doesn't need beer to be good."

"Tch." Morton started devouring his meal. Everyone else was busy eating. A few moments passed.

"Aight, I'm starting this up again." said Roy, pushing a green light on his screen. The VOICE ONLY hologram once again appeared and the lights went dim again.

"You need to know something to become a part of it." said Larry. "That's the golden key into this society. There's really no other way. If they see you snooping around, they'll take note and decide if you're worth it, and that depends largely on what you're doing in your life, like what clubs you belong to, who you support, all that good stuff. 

As you guessed, that's how I got in. I tend to snoop around where I shouldn't snoop around, but hey, I love what I do. I hardly changed after what happened to me, and that's how I was able to get this message out.

But now, the real reason I contacted you. Sorry for that long introduction, but as things fall apart around the would, and they WILL fall apart, it is necessary to avoid an increasing confusion as to how things are really run. 

You've probably noticed the huge amount of earthquakes that have ravaged across the globe lately. Sure, many of them are associated with volcano's, but the volcano's themselves are erupting for the same exact reason. That reason is the way in, that's how you get into this network. Needless to say, the earthquakes are going to dramatically increase overtime. There's been a lot of tension between the crustal plates and this tension will only increase as well. Same reason. 

Bowser will try to suppress this information as much as he can. Can't say how I got that intel. But this stuff rattles the citizens and he wants none of that. Where do I stand? Well, let's just say that if I stood by him, I wouldn't be telling you this. He probably wont tell you anything about these things. The less people know, the more secure the whole network is, so his thinking goes. The council seems to think so too. 

But yeah, that's my message. Things are going to get worse as far as natural disasters are concerned. Things are going to happen that cannot be explained as well. I have no idea either, but since you're in a prominent position, I figured that it would be wise to let you know about this. What you do with this information is up to you, but just know that they are watching. I'd do it undercover, where you'll know no one will be peaking. 

Good luck man. And if you get caught, you'll be up here with me."

The transmission ended and the hologram disappeared. The lights turned on, revealing several thoughtful faces, and a few faces stuffed with food.

"So, is Larry playing some kind of game?" asked Junior.

"Nope." said Roy, sipping on his brandy.

"Nah, I can tell when he's playing something." said Lemmy. "This isn't it. He's pretty damn serious."

As Lemmy finished speaking, his imagination manifested into reality; he felt a small tremor beneath his feet. Earlier, he thought he had felt a smaller tremor during Larry's recorded speech, but he thought he was imagining things. "Ah shit, I don't wanna feel that."

"You felt that too?" asked Morton. His reply was not met by words but by a far more powerful tremor that seemingly shook the entire complex. 

Roy bolted from his seat. "We're outta here." 

The rest all got up from their chairs and headed for the exit, but a particularly powerful tremor shook at that moment and many things happened at once. Part of the ceiling crumbled and many stones fell within the hallway that led to the exit. Roy managed to dodge most of them and cross the other side, but the others were not as lucky. 

"The exit's blocked!" shouted Morton.

"Go around the building, use the doors on the other side!" said Roy. The tremors stopped for a second, but the building itself started to sway back and forth. Seeing this, Roy began to run towards the exit. A few moments passed before another tremor occurred and the building quickly jolted to the far left with a tremendous noise, hitting Roy against the wall.

Somewhere behind him came the sound of crashing glass. He thought he heard people calling for Lemmy, but the noise was getting too defining. The whole thing was very ironic, not only with Larry talking about this very danger, but Lemmy was as well, just before the recording. Roy would've never have expected an earthquake of this magnitude in the downtown capital of the Koopa Kingdom. To say that he was surprised would be an understatement, but he never showed it. At length, Roy finally made it to the double-doored entrance. Bursting the doors open, he made his way out onto the docks and was met with a massive number of people running this was and that, trying to flee the insanity.

The Golden Koopa restaurant itself seemed to be swaying back and forth due to the earthquake that struck downtown. Hundreds of people were flocking out of the restaurant, both on the ground level and on the air dock levels. Roy fought against the crazy mobs that were headed towards any available docked ship that could carry them to safety. He made his way towards his ship, which was being guarded by Koopatrols against the crazy mob.

"Sir!" one of the Koopatrols spotted Roy, and helped him through the mob and onto the other side of the Koopatrol defensive line. "An Earthquake hit 3 miles from here. We started the civilian evacuation process." 

"Tell all private and public vessels to take in civilians. All military here is coming with me." 

"Sir!" the Koopatrol saluted and talked into his hand held radio. Roy ran towards the entrance to his yacht but stopped abruptly at the sound of a large explosion. Turning, he looked downtown and was baffled by what he saw.

The KoopaTV tower, a 1500 ft tall 130 story building, had lost its foundation and was collapsing, luckily falling away from the other major skyscrapers. Explosions rocked the upper floors and Roy thought he saw a bluish blur near the top levels before the building crashed to the ground. But in the moment, he believed he was seeing things.

Roy boarded the yacht along with several dozen soldiers that had dined at the restaurant. Seeing the distressed public, many of the soldiers instructed them to board the ships on the other side of the dock, where Wendy's pink yacht could clearly be seen. 

As Roy's yacht launched, Roy looked over at Wendy's yacht and thought he saw Lemmy climbing aboard Wendy's pink yacht followed by a multitude of people. Once again surprised, he flipped open his phone and gave him a quick call. 

"How'd you get out?"

"Dude, I know martial arts!" said Lemmy with a bunch of noise in the background.

"Well, get outta there. She's gonna fall. And what happened to Morty and the others?"

"I don't know, man! I fell through the window back in the room and ran out here. Now I got a million people wanting to ride with me."

The Earth trembled once again, and finally the Golden Koopa couldn't sustain itself. With several groans, many of its foundational supports were ripped loose and it began to tumble towards the ground. Roy immediately put his cell away and drove the yacht away from the falling colossus as fast as he could. Lemmy himself finally drove Wendy's yacht away from the restaurant with dozens of people trying to jump from the docks towards the yacht, with many missing their target.

With a deafening crash, the 200 foot tall Golden Koopa smashed to the ground, billowing up a large cloud of smoke, debris and fire.

* * *

With the meeting canceled and many of the lesser members not showing up, Penny Crygor locked up the doors to the Inventor's Hall in Koopa City and wondered how she would spend the rest of her evening. She was excited to propose her free energy module as a solution on relying on fossil fuels, but for some reason the idea never seemed to get the light of day, due to x circumstance and y accident. She was aware of Ludwig's warning to her about the fossil fuel companies not liking her idea and she knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but she knew that it was people like her that kept up the progression in society, even if it flew into the faces of a few greedy men.  

She walked to her motorcycle, parked inside a small parking garage not far from the entrance to the Inventor's Hall. Colored in black with pink hearts all over it, it's been said by Iggy to "perfectly fit her personality." That only served to reminder her of Iggy's new singularity engine proposal, which she thought was too close to her own free energy idea.

Penny unzipped her bag attached to the back of her bike. She unzipped her jacket revealing a black bike suit adorned with pink hearts, matching the pattern on her bike. Taking off her pants and pink boots, she placed her clothes inside the bag, pulled out a pair of leather boots and quickly strapped them on.

She suddenly thought of something. She fished for her shirt in the bike bag and dug into its pockets. She pulled out a printed copy of the Doomsday Manuscript taped together.

She had deduced that the 4 circles on each side fit with the fingers of the indigenous koopa. Iggy was right on the fact it was only meant to be used by members of the royal house. But she had recalled earlier seeing a very faint outline on either side of the document in very faint light.

The sun had long set in the Koopa Kingdom and the stars laid spread out across the sky. Taking advantage of this, Penny held up the document to the stars. After a moment, the outline appeared again, seemingly two rounded curves near the edges of the document. Between these curves, a faint orange color appeared.

"Strange." Penny muttered to herself. She didn't know what that meant, but her thought process was cut off by a large tremor beneath her feet. 

"An earthquake?!" She quickly placed the map back in her bag and zipped it up. Placing her helmet on her head, she started up her bike and zoomed down the road. More tremors greeted her and she struggled to stay on the road. 

In the distance, she saw many of the large buildings in downtown Koopa City swaying back and forth. As far as she could remember, only 1 or 2 earthquakes have hit this area since the time the Koopa's had started to record earthquakes. Penny wondered if it had something to do...

A fissure suddenly cracked open in front of her, with the land seemingly rising up. The front wheel of her bike hit the fissure and Penny launched forward from her seat and flew into the air before she hit the ground and blacked out.

* * *

Many ships were able to escape the carnage, but they flew in all directions lacking any order to them. It certainly shouldn't come as any surprise, for besides the restaurant itself, the greater part of Koopa City was in ruin and total chaos, which soon became apparent to Roy. Several skyscrapers had fallen, with KoopaTV being one of them. Other large buildings had collapsed upon themselves. Fissures in the ground had opened up all over the city, making travel extremely difficult. The worst part, in Roy's mind, was the growing discontent and and insanity that was beginning to take hold in the population. While many of the citizens seemed to be helping others from the aftermath of the Earthquake which appeared to be finally over, small crowds were beginning to form on the ground below, and Roy even saw one such crowd raid a package store.

Roy snapped his finger and a Koopatrol was immediately by his side.

"We're goin' to headquarters." said Roy. "And we're gonna start to fix this mess. But for now...disperse the crowds, and if they get violent, match 'em."

"Sir!" replied the soilder, and he marched off. After a few moments, Roy cell was ringing.

"Yeah?"

There was no response. Roy looked at the phone screen and realized that they were GPS coordinates. After seeing the sender of the coordinates, he quickly walked over to his pilot.

"Head .8 km southwest of the Golden Koopa...or what was, anyway."

"Why?" the pilot asked, somewhat confused. "There's nothing out there!"

"I got a signal. Morty's out there."

The pilot nodded, and the yacht changed course and headed towards Morton's announced location. Roy sat down on one of the couches and tried to steady his head in a crazy and hectic environment. A thought crossed his mind then.

"Guess ol Bertha didn't make it." he mused to himself. That was certainly a desirable outcome. If the truth had ever gotten out between him and Bertha, Roy would never hear the end of it. At the very least, Morton and his fiancée Kylie kept it all a secret. He knew that if Bowser ever figured it out, Roy would lose his position in a heartbeat. Meddling with any criminal element in the world was intolerable in the military.

Roy laid back against the couch and stared up at the stars in the sky. He knew it was going to be a long night and he wondered what he should drink to keep him out through the crisis. He also wondered where the hell Larry was. He was spot on about the earthquakes, that was for sure. But Roy could only wonder how Larry knew about what was going to happen in the first place.


	9. Welcome to the Galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wario is rudely awakened by a Toad chauffeur who informs him of Dr. Crygor's intent. Larry Koopa, now within the secret fortress makes a string of drunken rants before his "friend" decides to join him. Meanwhile, Iggy recovers and arrives at the fortress Ludwig had talked about previously except it's nothing like he imagined it to be.

"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but you have a visitor."

Groaning to himself, Wario rolled over to the phone next to his bed. If there's one thing he hated, it was getting woken up in the middle of the night because of trivial things.

"What do you want?!" said Wario, clearly peeved.

"You have a visitor at the front gate. He claims that it is time for you to go."

"Go where?"

"He says that you would know."

Wario rubbed his forehead and looked at Mona, who was still sound asleep next to him. For a split second, he thought about asking his butler if the visitor was female or not, but considering the nature of the business, he quickly tossed it aside.

"Fine, I'll be down there in 5." The intercom fizzled off.

Pushing aside the fur blankets, Wario climbed out of bed and grabbed his bathrobe, which unsurprisingly had a large W on its front and back. He grabbed the PDA from the counter and placed it in his robe pocket. Opening the large oak doors as quietly as he could, he slipped out and made his way down the hallway and inevitably to the castle courtyard. He was pleased to see that his servants had actually done what they were told. On the bottom floor lay boxes that were filled with a portion of his treasures that he planned to bring up with him once his visit was up. But with an early visitor such as this one, something in the back of his mind told him that it would soon be over.

Walking to the massive front doors of the castle, Wario pressed a button on the wall and the doors opened automatically. On the other side was a toad with sunglasses looking at his watch. Behind him was a black limo, hovering above the ground. 

"There you are. A member of the Galaxy had requested your presence some time ago and wanted to me to inform you personally."

"Geez, can't it wait? It's 2 in the morning!"

"Did you check your PDA? A message should have been sent to it regarding the meeting."

Wario muttered something to himself as he pulled out his PDA ad turned it on. Sure enough, a new message blinked on the screen:

MEETING WITH DR. CRYGOR REQUESTED  
ROOM W89-822  
COMMENTS: Penny joined the brigade.

"Wha?!" Wario looked rather startled. He did not expect Penny to join the Galaxy so quickly. Through a request by the Inventor's Board, it was agreed upon by the council to have the first 5 chairs join the Galaxy through a slow process of acquisition. But the suddenness of Penny's arrival disturbed Wario. She was not due for arrival for another couple of months. Then again, she could've found out herself.

"Eh...I can see what the doc is getting at..." he muttered under his breathe. "Alright alright, I'll go!"

"Wario, are you going on another adventure?" said a voice from behind. Wario turned and saw Mona in the doorway with a large white fur blanket on her shoulders. However, they largely failed to cover up the rest of her body. The toad gulped at the sight.

"Heh heh...Crygor wants to talk. You should come along, it'll be a long stay."

"L-like that...?" stammered the toad, unable to divert his gaze from Mona's chest.

"Of course, you numbskull! Don't you have a pair of balls?!"

"I don't see what the big deal is." said Mona, shrugging. "We've made out in the back seat a million times with...almost no problems. There was that time with the driver wanting to join in."

"Oh yeah, he's dead. Hahaha!" said Wario. "Hey, do you mind if we make out in the back seat again? Cause I had a long flight back here and..." He chuckled.

"You don't even have to ask..."

"I know, I was talking to the ball-less driver of ours...heh heh."

But the driver was stammering and couldn't bring himself under control. Mona shook her head at the sight. At length, she wrapped the blanket around herself. This seemed to do the trick as the toad instantly controlled himself.

"We should leave now." he quickly said before climbing into the driver's seat of the limo. The back door of the limo then opened and Wario and Mona quickly got in and sat down on the purple leather seats. Even at 2 in the morning, Wario relished the sight at seeing his emblem emblazoned over everything. The floor had a rather large yellow W amongst a purple backdrop. Each of the individual seats had the emblem in the backrests. Even the wine glasses were stained with the great yellow W. Wario smiled at the sight as he poured a bottle for Mona, who looked ready to fall asleep again.

After handing her a glass, the limo rose up off the ground and slowly started forward into the night.

"You know," said Mona, drinking the whole glass, "If I expose myself while he's driving, we might crash to the ground and lose a life."

"Not if I'm all over you..." Wario moved in front of her and kissed her. It wasn't long before the poor toad noticed the blanket on the floor, as well as Wario's overly obese buttcrack.

"My god, somebody help me." he whispered to himself as the limo  haphazardly flew into the evening sky.

* * *

The bar was luxurious, it had to be in order to function. Covered in black with red lights streaking through the curves, it was more than obvious that this was a Koopa establishment. In the back were many dining tables and in the corner were a couple of poker tables with more than a few players in them. The front of the bar didn't have too many people, however. The hour was late and most people had already gone back to their residence.

"The stars are infinite."

A toad colored in black with red dots looked out the window, the stars reflecting in his circular shades. "Are they?"

"The universe is an endless expanse. Millions of lifeforms struggling to survive, just like us. We got so close to talking with some of them too, before all of this happened. It would've been nice to meet with a hot alien chick at least once. Maybe one with 4 breasts."

"Y'know Larry," said the toad, rubbing a glass with a cloth, "I've been hearing strange things about that from some of the goers. They say the military has already made contact with some of them. They don't believe what they say."

Larry Koopa finished off his second glass of whiskey. He had heard of the rumors before he was sucked into the vacuum of the Galaxy. It was kept a secret for the same exact reason why the Great Destroyer was being kept a secret: Mass Riot. Destabilization of government. Larry felt that people feared too much.

"I'll take another." he said, pushing the glass towards the toad. "And I know all about that. There's a race supposedly trying to help people around the world with the pole shift. But it's pretty high up, only a few people have seen them, so the story goes. Do I buy it?" Larry shrugged. "I've seen some sick shit in my life. I've seen some crazy shit too so I'm not going to just say its nothing right off the bat. Hell Hinopio, when I heard of this place, I thought that was absolutely crazy. It sounded impossible, yet here I am, enjoying everything I have ever dreamed of without shelling out a single penny."

Larry shifted his stool. "Hell, now we're in space dude. I can't even see the Mushroom World from here."

Hinopio pushed another drink to Larry. "And your drinks are free."

Larry laughed. "Yeah. They're free here, but I just pay somewhere else."

"Nothing comes for free?"

Larry drank from his third glass before looking over his shoulder at the poker tables. She was winning them all again, unsurprisingly. The players were starting to look a little annoyed.

"Love doesn't."

"You have your eyes on someone?" 

Larry rubbed his temple. "Yeah. It was impossible in the past, but now..." He looked at his glass. "It was impossible back then because she's human."

"Ah." Hinopio muttered, "Those never go well."

As if on cue, a human women approached and sat on the bar stool to the left of Larry. She wore a red and black dress and had long, straight black hair cropped up in a pair of stylistic pig tails. Her emotionless face made her identity undeniable.

"You're probably why I'm not playing poker with you guys tonight." muttered Larry. "I have a lot to think about. My brother Iggy is coming to the club today."

"I thought he wasn't allowed in?" she asked.

"He wasn't. It's a huge deal now cause it may lead to the rest of my siblings joining the Galaxy. It highly depends on what he does now, and how he acts at the council tomorrow."

"So that's your plan." She waved her hand at Hinopio. "Tiversky."

"Yeah Ashley, pretty much. Exposing the Galaxy itself is a bad idea. I mean, for what it offers, people should really appreciate it more. Even if its just an empty means to escape from the inevitable future, nothing like this has ever been offered before. Too few people are taking advantage of the Galaxy because of how extravagant it is. They let their senses take control."

Ashley simply nodded. Upon being given her Tiversky, she pulled out a small clear vial filled with a red liquid. She emptied its contents into the drink and took a sip.

Larry raised an eyebrow. "That looked like blood."

"It was bat's blood."

"Huh." Larry stared at the window in front of him.

Ashley looked at him. "You're more uptight than usual."

"It's just the earthquake." said Larry. "I don't know if they're alright or not. Well, Iggy and Ludwig are, I got a call. I don't know about the rest of them. Plus, I have to bump up my survival plans a notch."

"The Eternal Fortress?"

Larry smiled. "Yeah, Genlic. Ludwig knows about it. He says he would've taken it if he wasn't working on something else. I don't blame him." He took a sip from his glass. "I built several hydroponic greenhouses inside, several of them are large enough to be used as farms. Genlic was built above an underground river, great spot. All I had to do was build some irrigation canals and some natural pumps and that was it. And you don't have to worry about it crumbling, either. As far as our records go, Genlic has survived the past 4 pole shifts. Don't ask me what it's made of because I don't know. Iggy took a glance once and thought it was some type of alloy between stone and metal, but that's it." He scratched his head. "The only real question is how many people will be there. I hope they'll be a lot, but after talking to a few folk, some seem to be keen on dying with their riches."

Ashley sipped on her drink. "Denial feels too good for them to wake up." 

"So, have you woken up?" asked Larry.

"Half awake after what happened."

Larry paused for a moment. "Sorry, but it wasn't my fault that Penny joined the brigade." 

"It was Iggy who did it, and look who recruited Iggy. I didn't want her here."

"Yeah Ash, but she needs to live her own life, you know. I know you two are inseparable, but we're still our own person." 

"Is it like how you're still inseparable from your siblings?"

"Yeah. But we're still growing. I care about them, but they have to live. We do our own thing now."

Ashley went silent for a moment. "And what about you?"

Larry laughed. "I was one of the first ones to break off. Remember 'Zombie Heartbreaker'?" 

"That was when we first met." She made a rare smile. "How could I forget that?"

"Yeah, that was a pretty sick ritual we did back then. All of the zombies simultaneously combusted at the peak."

"I thought that the river of blood that it made afterwards was more romantic."

"Just like pouring your heart out for somebody." Larry smiled.

"Whatever happened to that?"

"Bowser chewed me out."

"You know, I don't have a problem with that."

"I don't either, but then this whole Galaxy thing happened." 

"Well then," said Ashley, "Shall we pick up where we left off?"

There was silence for some time.

"I was supposed to ask that." said Larry.

"Does it matter?"

"It doesn't anymore. We can do whatever we want."

"Then what about now?" she asked.

Larry's PDA went off at that moment. He takes it from his pocket and sees a meeting message from Ludwig.

"Been waiting for this."

"Hm?"

"Iggy's arrival. Apparently, Penny's with them."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, I have to go meet them and show them around. Do the whole introduction. Thank god I'm not totally drunk."

"Do you mind if I come along?"

Larry hopped off his bar stool. "Sure."

* * *

Iggy slowly woke, struggling to keep his heavy eyes open. He quickly realized that Ludwig's face was looming over him. 

"We have arrived." he said. "Unfortunately, you must stay awake for the orientation." 

"Alright." said a groggy Iggy as Ludwig walked to the back of the ship. Iggy rubbed his eyes and wondered where he was. Taking a look out the window next to him, he saw metallic sidewalks and metal boxes stacked against a wall, but his view was rather limited otherwise. He did notice a group of what appeared to be koopa chauffeurs run past and stop toward the back of the ship. At that moment, Iggy heard what sounded like a door opening in the back. 

"Good morning." said Ludwig, speaking with the koopa's. "I will need a stretcher. There is an injured human on board." Some of the chauffeurs ran off.

"Huh?" Curious, Iggy tried to stand up, but he lost his balance and had to lean on his seat to support himself. That Aria Carant was more potent than he had realized. After rubbing his eyes again, he managed to simply stand up straight and adjust himself to his surroundings. The back door to the plane was open and chauffeurs were unloading baggage onto a trolley. Ludwig was looking over a person wearing what appeared to be a black and pink biking outfit.

"Who's that?" asked Iggy.

Ludwig looked up. "There was an earthquake during out flight, with the epicenter approximately 3 miles from the center of Koopa City. I received an SOS signal during the occurrence. I arrived at the source of the signal and it turned out to be Penny Crygor's. She was unconscious when I found her." He paused. "You should rehydrate yourself. There's a sink on the right."

"I'm not that thirsty." said Iggy, walking forward. "That earthquake was caused by the Great Destroyer, wasn't it?"

"You will need it. The orientation is a long process."

With a grumble, Iggy took a tall glass, filled it with water and found himself drinking the entire contents before drinking another full glass. He stared at himself in the mirror for a long moment. He had no idea what was going to happen to him now. The word "orientation" could mean many things, including interrogation or perhaps simply a guided tour. Despite his questionable decision to be drinking now, Iggy knew that he had to mentally prepare himself for what was to come the best way he could. Unfortunately, the only thing he could think of that would keep him up was a nice tall french vanilla with 2 creams and 2 sugars.

With renewed motivation, Iggy concentrated on walking correctly and managed to make it to the back of the ship relatively easily. He saw several chauffeurs lift an unconscious Penny onto a stretcher while the others hauled off a trolley full of luggage. 

"It appears that Penny was knocked out cold into an unconscious state." said Ludwig. "She will have to stay in the hospital here and regain consciousness before she claims her residency. In the meantime, the first section of your orientation will begin."

Ludwig hopped out of the back of the ship, with Iggy following. As soon as he got out however, Iggy had to stop himself once he saw the starry expanse of space before him, surrounding his home planet, Mushroom World. It wasn't anything like the secret fortress he had been expecting. Spaceships were coming to and fro from the planet to his current location. Iggy turned around to say something to Ludwig, but was left speechless at what lay before him.

The Galaxy was far more than the simple fortress that he had imagined. To say that it was a space fortress would be an understatement. It was a gigantic monstrosity at least 400-500 ft high, surrounded by a number of small ships and docks and illuminated by every color imaginable through its countless windows. It seemed to be largely made up of 7 or 8 very large cylinders, each the size of a large skyscraper, with each cylinder squeezed together forming a larger entity roughly in the shape of a circle. Every cylinder was emblazoned with an over sized flag of its respective nation on its peak. On top of these cylinders was an upper platform which served as the foundation for a teardrop shape structure, the top of the entire complex. Various spaceships went to and fro, with logos of their alliance or their country of origin. Ships with the Koopa and Mario logos seemed to be the most abundant, but ships with Yoshi, DK and Wario logos were also seen, each gathering around specific sections of the Galaxy.

Ludwig stopped walking with the chauffeurs as soon as he noticed Iggy standing in awe at the spectacle. He smirked to himself. "It is a bit funny to imagine how this started out as a side project of mine. I really should discuss with you the whole history at some point."

Iggy couldn't say anything, but he managed to find the power in his legs and finally caught up to Ludwig. 

"This is...um...uh..."

"A masterpiece, I completely agree." said Ludwig. "Every nation made a pitch towards the final effort to what you see now. Amazingly...hm?"

Ludwig stopped short upon seeing that the koopa chauffeurs ahead of them were arguing with two people. Upon closer inspection, one of them had a tall blue hairdo and was doing most of the arguing. The other wore a black and red top-down and stood there silently.

"There you are, Larry. What's this commotion about?" asked Ludwig. 

"Larry?" Iggy managed to divert his gaze from the architectural wonder to his younger sibling. 

"Ashley says she can bring Penny back to consciousness."

"Well then, do so." instructed Ludwig, making the chauffeurs nervously back away. Ashley quietly stepped forward and raised her right hand, keeping it aloft.

"It's about time you made it here, bro." said Larry, walking over to Iggy. "Looks like you're as drunk as I am. I don't blame you at all."

"How do you do it?" asked Iggy.

"Do what?"

"Survive."

Larry laughed. "There's many ways."

Once Ashley's hand glowed a dull purple, she clasped it with Penny's left hand and softly spoke an unintelligible chant. After a few moments, Penny stirred from her sleep, diverting Iggy's attention. 

"A-ash?" she stuttered, looking up at her. Ashley stepped forward and gave her a big hug. "I guess you found me." 

Penny smiled. "Thank you." But her smile soon diminished after seeing what was in front of her, breaking off the hug. "Wait, where the hell am I?"

"You are currently on board The Galaxy," said Ludwig, "Which is a super-massive space station that is within orbit above the Mushroom World. All who stay and dwell here know the knowledge of the coming passage of the Great Destroyer, the changes that will occur as well as the coming pole shift." He pointed out towards the right of the Mushroom World, where a large fuzzy orange object could be seen behind the planet. "That is it right there. It is now outbound from our star and has encountered the Mushroom World within its orbit, resulting in the halt of our Mushroom World's orbit and the increase in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other cataclysmic events. That is basically what is occurring, at the very least." 

Penny was silent, too stunned to say anything. Ludwig nodded, as if expecting the response. "The important thing is that you managed to scathe away from the recent earthquake relatively unharmed."

"Hey, do you know if everyone else made it out of that?" asked Larry. "Roy told me he had gathered everyone together at the Golden Koopa, but it collapsed during the quake."

"Unfortunately, I have not heard anything." said Ludwig. "But, knowing our own robustness and ways of the koopa, I am fairly confident that they are fine." Ludwig paused. "Well, unfortunately I have a meeting I must attend to soon, so I must depart. I called Larry down here to finish both of your orientations. He'll guide you both on the basic operations of being a member of The Galaxy. We will have to talk again during a more quieter time than now. Until then." Ludwig waved and turned to the chauffeurs. "Oh, and the stretcher is no longer needed, but thank you for your service." He then walked off towards what appeared to be an elevator terminal ahead next to the sidewalk, climbed aboard and after a few moments, quickly shot up the Koopa column.

"Great..." Larry muttered to himself, watching Ludwig shoot up the elevator. He turned back to the others. "Alright, welcome to The Galaxy. Since at least two of us are little tipsy right now, I think it's probably best to get this over with as quickly as possible."

Penny got off the stretcher and managed to stand up. "So...this is a grand conspiracy after all."

"Yeah, that's a big rule around here. Once you know it, you're not allowed to tell anyone else unless you get approval from the higher ups. You get jailed indefinitely if you don't, or worse. They say its because they don't want the public to panic when they hear about a giant planet that'll cause the end of the world. The big guys want to keep the economies of the world moving. I will tell you though, a LOT of people in the Galaxy more than regret knowing the truth simply because they can't tell anyone else about it."

Iggy felt a little more relieved, but that didn't change his opinion on how wrong it was. At the very least, he knew that there were many other people who opposed The Galaxy.

"So, let's get started." said Iggy. "I'm pretty tired and you probably are too."

"Tired of being told what to do, maybe." said Larry, walking forward towards the entrance of the Koopa column. The others followed behind him. "I'm not tired of the free drinks here though."

"That's useful."

"Yeah, that's a plus about this place. Despite its intent, there's a lot of useful things you can get out of it. Information, supplies, distractions, you name it. Kind of like a shopping mall, except much bigger and not filled with completely useless junk." 

Penny sighed. "Please, clothes are not useless."

"They are if you have entire floors filled with them. Actually, in the Mario column, Daisy was demanding an entire floor filled with women's lingerie for a long time and she finally got it recently. Luigi gets to see something different every night. I should ask him about that the next time I see him." Penny rolled her eyes.

"Hey wait." said Iggy. "You talk to Luigi?"

"Oh yeah. We're pretty open around here. I guess it's the culture that's developed ever since the Galaxy opened. It took down a lot of the former borders that we had. That's not to say that we don't have any borders, period. Mario still mistrusts the Koopa's a great deal and requires all these release forms if you're going to meet him. I'll tell you about those later. But Luigi is far more lenient and while he doesn't talk to Bowser much, he does like Ludwig and myself so there's a good chance you'll hear from him, Iggy."

"Interesting." 

The group reached the entrance of the Koopa column, which had a "Welcome to the Galaxy!" slogan sprawled over the top of the doorway. Walking inside, Iggy was impressed to find that the decor was nothing like Bowser's Castle at all. Instead, the design looked much like the interior of the Ludwig ZSX-1, which made Iggy remember Ludwig's comment about how he initially designed the Galaxy at first. While the rugs were black, much of the lighting was blue and the massive central hallway was open to the stars above. The hallway was also open in the center to the floors above and below it. Iggy looked below the silver railings and saw an immense amount of people doing this and that. There had to have been at least a few hundred from that sight alone. 

The group continued to follow Larry until he walked into a large store on the right. The shop was full of PDA's, most being a bit smaller than the one Ludwig used. Behind the checkout counter were an assortment of cards representing the columns of the Galaxy, all of them blank.

"The first thing to do is to get your own personalized PDA." said Larry. "It's one of the most important things to have while you're here. It shows names, contact information and an atlas of the world as it is now. You can check your email, use it as a phone, plus a bunch of other things. Having it is a requirement at The Galaxy. After that, you'll get your apartment assigned to you. Then we can all go home and pass out." He smiled at the thought.

Iggy quickly got in line, eager to get the orientation over with. He could only imagine what his new bed looked like and how soft it was. He hoped it was one of those new pillow top beds. It was like falling asleep on a Lakitu's cloud.

Iggy felt someone tug on his arm behind him. He turned around and saw Penny looking at him.

"So...that planet..." 

"Basically, it's the same one found in the Mushroom Book of Destruction." said Iggy.

"That means..."

"Yeah." Iggy sighed. "I'm sorry."

Penny was silent for a moment. "So, that's what you meant back then."

"Yeah. I didn't want to be too hard on you, but I believe that everybody deserves to know this. Just don't tell anyone else that, because-"

"I know." She looked out the window, towards the orange orb that was the Great Destroyer. "Thank you, Iggy...for not leaving me in the dark."

"No problem."

"Next!" said a voice in front of him. Iggy walked up to the cashier waiting for him behind the counter. He saw another cashier open up next to him, who promptly ushered Penny to his location.

"Welcome to the Galaxy!" said the cashier. "I will need the Galaxy card that was given to you before your arrival."

"Hmm...oh yeah." Iggy remembered the card Ludwig gave to him in his tower. Iggy pulled it out and gave it to the cashier, who then promptly swiped it in a machine and gave it back to Iggy. After a moment of waiting, a printer went off and printed up several sheets of paper. Stapling them together, the cashier then handed them to Iggy. 

"Your PDA is being manufactured and should be ready in a few minutes." said the cashier. "Until then, I would like to go over the specifications of your apartment."

"Okay."

"You have been assigned K7th floor section 9, blocks 770 through 779. This of course includes the basic commodities such as a main foyer, living room, dining room, shower, kitchen and bedroom. These are covered in rooms K79-770 to K79-774. Rooms K79-775 to K79-777 house your laboratory, which was built to the exact specifications as the one you use back on Mushroom World. We did upgrade much of the technology in accordance with Galaxy standards, so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions on any of the replaced devices. Rooms K79-778 and K79-779 house your personal observatory. Our records indicate that this had been requested to King Bowser back on Mushroom World, who had then forwarded it Ludwig, who then fulfilled your request by constructing it here at the Galaxy. Everything you've requested in its construction should be there."

Iggy simply stared forward with his mouth slightly agape and overtired eyes unmoving.

"Each apartment is equipped with adequate security measures to ensure safety and the comfort of your well being. You have 3 apartment doors. The first is the entrance to your main living quarters, K79-772. This is located to the right as you step off of the elevator, on the left looking at the floor from below. The second and third doors lead to your laboratory and observatory, rooms K79-776 and K79-778, respectably. These are located to the left as you step off the elevator, or on the right looking at the floor from below. 

Each door is equipped with a several security mechanisms. The main way open a door is to place a finger on the fingerprint scanner, then say a vocal password that will unlock the door. These security mechanisms can be set yourself upon first arrival at your apartment. These security measures remain universal for each door you own by default, however if you wish, you may customize each door to carry a different vocal password. And don't worry, the vocal security system was designed to recognize only the tone of your voice as the proper authorization, making it impossibly difficult for others to try to imitate.

For food, there are several ways to eat. The two most popular options are to either dine out at one of the many restaurants or to order room delivery. As with everything in the Galaxy, it is all free as long as you have the proper identification."

A small mechanical sound was heard and a black PDA with a red Koopa logo embalmed on the top emerged from the desk.

"Your PDA has been manufactured." said the cashier, handing it to a shocked Iggy. "This will be one of your most useful tools to find your way around the Galaxy. It contains a map of every section of the Galaxy, including floors, restaurants, shops, bars, concerts, cinemas, you name it. It contains directories of all of the people who are with the Galaxy, whether they are on the Galaxy itself or upon the Mushroom World. Your PDA also contains a directory of all the shops and restaurants, including those that specialize in room delivery service. There are many, many other useful features that you may explore at your convenience.  

That concludes the first half of your orientation. Any questions?"

Iggy at length shook out of his shocked trance. "Wait, that was the first half?"

"Yes. At a later date, you are to attend your induction ceremony at the council hall. This will determine your loyalty to the Galaxy and how willing you are to keep the Great Destroyer a secret from those on the Mushroom World. Depending on your response, you may be eligible for added bonuses and benefits here at the Galaxy."

Iggy frowned. He knew he wasn't going to get away that easily. "So, every member goes through the same thing?"

"Correct. The Council must test each of its newcomers for their integrity. The induction is hosted by the leaders of the respective section of the Galaxy. In your case, King Bowser Koopa will likely be the chairman, with Ludwig Von Koopa acting as vice chairman."

Iggy rubbed his eyes. 

"Ah, I wouldn't worry." said the cashier. "Even if Bowser hosts the induction, each leading member of the Council must also be present to weigh in their decisions. It will not be unjust."

"Alright..." Iggy muttered to himself. "...Alright. So, that's it?"

"If you do not have any further questions for me, then you are free to go."

"Thank you for everything." said Iggy, putting the papers and PDA in his pocket. He turned and saw Larry, Penny and Ashley talking amongst themselves. 

"Took you long enough." said Larry. 

"I have 10 blocks to myself, apparently." said Iggy.

"Wait, really? I only got 5 blocks. What's up with that?"

"So did I." said Penny. "Including my lab."

"I requested to Bowser years ago, when I still got along with him that I wanted an observatory. Apparently, the request went to Ludwig who built it here. Looks like he's been anticipating me for some time." said Iggy.

"He's got some kind of plan, Iggy." said Larry. "Let's talk about it at some other point. I want to crash."

"Same." The group walked out of the store and made their way past dozens of shops towards the center of the Koopa column. They soon found themselves in central core of the Koopa section. A great statue of King Bowser Koopa was in its center, surrounded by several flowing fountains. People walked to and fro, into and out of shops, restaurants and many elevators. 

"I'm glad you came with me, Ashley." said Larry. "Otherwise, I'd have to walk her to the Wario section to show her where her room his."

"You can use the PDA to find it." said Ashley.

"That's true, but its much easier to let someone go with you to get the firsthand experience." said Larry. Iggy was already going through PDA however.

"I already found mine. Apparently, I got the window side."

"Yeah, section 9." said Larry. "I got the same thing, man. Each section 9 on every floor is the window side. The higher ups in this world always get that side. I wouldn't have it any other way. So, you know where you're going?"

"Yeah." said Iggy. "I want to add you guys to my contact list before I go."

"Good idea, man." said Larry, pulling out his PDA. "My room is K69-257."

"K79-772." said Iggy, punching in Larry's digits.

"Mine is W79-477." said Penny, looking through her PDA.

"W59-612." said Ashley.

The group took a few moments to plug their friend's rooms into their directories. Iggy noticed that as soon as he typed in the coordinates of a room and the name along with it, their contact information was immediately made available. Originally, none of the apartments had the names of anyone living in them.

"Cool, that makes things a lot easier." said Iggy. "We should talk again when we're not so tired, drunk, hungover, or anything else."

"Definitely. So, you got it from here, Ashley?"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow at our usual spot." Ashley then turned and walked off with Penny towards the Wario column. Larry smiled to himself as they walked off. Iggy eyebrow-ed at the spectacle, then smiled.

"Heh, should have known you had something going on with her." said Iggy, turning towards the elevators. "Ever since that Zombie Heartbreakers incident, I had this feeling."

"I think I still have that feeling." said Larry as they walked. "But you know how much people hate the whole koopa and human interracial thing."

"Yeah." said Iggy. "I remember you got chewed out by dad for that one. But that was a bit hypocritical, don't you think?"

Larry smirked. "Yeah, you're right." He walked to the right side of the elevator and pressed the up button. "I should do what my heart tells me to do." 

"Good luck on that one."

The elevator quickly descended to ground level and the left and right sides of the elevator opened up. Iggy and Larry walked inside.

"Interesting, it opens on its sides." said Iggy to himself.

"It travels sideways, too." On a screen behind them, they punched in their apartment coordinates. The doors slid to a close and the elevator ascended upwards rapidly. 

"Nice..." said Iggy, admiring the view. But before he could say anything else, the elevator stopped its upward movement, with the floor ticker at "K6." It then suddenly moved backwards, moving through the various sections of the floor. At length, the elevator came to a stop at "K69" before moving sideways to their right down past the 400 and 300 apartment blocks. Finally, the elevator came to a stop at "K69-257" and the elevator doors opened.

"This place is huge." muttered Iggy.

"Tell me about it. Well, I'm ready to crash. I'll see you later. Good luck at the induction. Just don't get pissed off at him."

"Right..." said Iggy as the elevator doors closed. He couldn't help but deeply sigh at that moment. He stared at the floor buttons for several seconds to regain his bearings. It felt like he had just surfed the largest wave of his life. 

As the elevator headed towards the next coordinates on its list, he knew that everything had just started. The secret life of the wealthy, the perfect world where everything that was ever dreamed of could be made a reality. The ones who knew the secret history of the world. The place where ones desires could truly be manifested. 

But at what cost?

Even if they say that everything in the Galaxy was free, it had to cost something. It wasn't money. Was it happiness? Undoubtedly. Was it sanity? Surely for some. Was it time? Will power? 

Feelings? 

That's what bugged Iggy the most. As long as materiality was allowed to cover up one's own real feelings to deal with a hard absolute truth, getting to know people was going to be difficult. He had already noticed how Ludwig put up a front when he dealt with him. Iggy also sensed in the air a certain superficiality amongst the population of the Galaxy. Being royalty, he was well aware of the worship of one's own vanity. He feared that he had to face it again. There was also something else that bothered him...

The elevator came to a stop at "K79-772" and the doors opened. Iggy looked up and saw his apartment door in front of him, marked with the same apartment number. At length, he finally got off of the elevator, which then closed its doors and sped off. 

He stood still for a second and looked around. The surroundings were mostly of black and blue with white lights illuminating overhead, the typical décor. Other than the elevator track that lay next to a walkway through the section, the area was not very striking. It was very quiet however, something that Iggy appreciated after growing up with noisy siblings.

Walking up to the door, he noted a terminal to the right of it which contained a fingerprint scanner with a small screen above it. He placed his finger on the scanner, which seemed to prompt the small screen to activate. "Please set your password." said a mechanized voice. 

"This will take some time..." Iggy muttered to himself as he tried to think of something he could remember. 

"Password activated." said the voice, with the screen lighting up in green.

"No! Crap..." The door to the apartment opened and Iggy wondered if he could even remember that phrase. He walked inside into the main foyer, a circular room surrounded by black marble pillars and covered with a large white fur rug. He walked forward through the room and entered the living room, where he stopped and took in his new living quarters. 

Directly in front of him was the main living room, which was mostly made up of leather sofas and couches which surrounded a shiny sphere that lay on the ground. Iggy guessed that it was a holographic television that Ludwig had made recently. To his northwest lay a large rectangular hole in the wall, which gave the view to the dining room, complete with a large pine table surrounded my more leather seats. Someone knew about Iggy's dislike for wooden chairs. Directly to Iggy's left was the kitchen, which contained the basic components for one as well as a central island that housed what appeared to be some kind of platform or lift. 

To Iggy's northeast was another hole in the wall which gave a view of what seemed to be some type of recreational room, complete with a pool table and several monitors hooked onto the walls. To Iggy's right was a seemingly large empty table that stretched into the recreational room, but below this table was all of Iggy's suitcases and laptop cases as well as many of his desktops. He felt revealed upon seeing them all safe and sound. 

Iggy noticed that to his right, there seemed to be another terminal as well as a plastic tube that ran alongside the wall before disappearing into it. At the end of this tube was a green letter. He took it out and noticed that it was sealed with a gold and green "L."

"Luigi?" he muttered. Iggy then remembered something about Luigi contacting Ludwig and Larry and something about being neutral to the koopa's. Iggy decided that it could wait, as he was too tired to concentrate. But he wasn't too tired to try to make himself remember his door password however. Iggy took out a pen the papers he was given and flipped to door security. He wrote the phrase in one of the margins and hoped he would see it in the morning, whenever that would be.

He looked past the main living room and noticed that the far back wall was split in two. Putting the papers on the counter, Iggy walked past the living room and looked for a way to open it. To the right of the wall was a small bathroom. However, to the left of the wall was a small panel with several buttons. Looking at it, he pressed a few before accidentally turning off all the lights. Eventually, at the press of the right button, the walls slowly opened up, revealing a large pair of tinted glass doors, the same size as the doors that had receded. Not finding any buttons to open the glass doors with, Iggy walked in front of it to figure out what to do next, only find that they opened automatically.

"Please, let this be the bedroom." he muttered to himself. He was happy to find that it was and that a large king sized bed lay before him, covered in a large black fur blanket. Smiling sleepily, he immediately threw off his shell as the glass doors shut behind him and climbed into bed with a major feeling of relief. 

"It's a pillow top..." he murmured. That fact alone made his bed the best thing in the apartment, so far. He couldn't remember the last time he got a proper nights rest. In fact, Iggy couldn't remember the last time he slept in an actual bed since he received the Doomsday Manuscript from Toad. That felt like a million years ago.

Iggy looked up at the ceiling only to find the stars staring down back at him. He silently thanked whoever thought up the architectural design of the ceiling as well as the rest of his apartment. After stargazing for a while, he turned on his side and thought about a certain person before he let sleep get the better of him.


	10. Inauguration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escaping the collapse of the Golden Koopa, Bowser Junior leads his siblings through the tunnels underneath the wreckage until Morton gets a GPS ping from Roy. Iggy wakes up and suddenly finds himself beginning the second half of his orientation. After the exhausting exchange, he wanders the Galaxy until he suddenly runs into Penny Crygor. And finally, Roy decides to do the unthinkable...

Underneath the charred remains of the Golden Koopa were a long stretch of underground tunnels, surrounded by warp pipes and lesser creatures that turned away at the presence of a large company. At the front of the company was Bowser Jr, using every bit of his inherited authority as he could. Behind him, his older siblings Wendy O. and Morton Koopa Jr. could only watch and shake their heads at the nearly pathetic display of power. Behind them was a large group of people that had also escaped the collapse of the restaurant. Most were quiet in awe of the royal family and in light of what occurred, although some murmured to themselves as they continued forward.

"Do you have any idea where were going?" asked Wendy, sounding a tad impatient. 

"Of course!" boasted Junior with his trademark grin. "When I was made heir to the kingdom, Bowser showed the entire underground blueprints for this area. There is a way out of here, a warp pipe ahead that will take us to the surface and we can be rescued by my troops there." 

"That's all nice and lovely." muttered Morton to himself, seemingly bothered by other things. "That still doesn't change the fact--" 

"Yes, you've said this a gazillion times already." interrupted Wendy. "Kylie was not with us when we went down this track. She must have turned a corner somewhere. I'm more worried about Lemmy who crashed through that window back there and fell like, 5 stories." 

Morton shrugged. "He's the best acrobat in the family, he probably jumped off the chandelier on his way down. I wouldn't worry about him." Morton was silent for a moment. "You know, she was originally on Mario's side. That was always in the back of my mind, but hey, I was hoping. But it looks like her true colors are finally shining." 

"What, that she ditched you? That isn't the first time. It's more like the 300th time." 

"Shut up! It's not like I had much of a choice anyway." 

"Hm?" 

"It was just...convenient. That's how it worked out." 

"Do I even want to know what's going on?" Junior blurted out. 

"Not really, since this has nothing to do with you." said Morton. 

"A typical response from one of my block-headed brothers." muttered Junior. He turned around another corner and the surrounding light started to slowly grow brighter. 

"At least I don't fuck porn stars, but hey, whatever floats your boat." 

"Hey! You're the one to tricked me into this bullshit, buddy. I wouldn't start complaining now because I can just stop right here and make you wish never said a damn thing to me! Fucking black skin doesn't even have the right-" 

He never finished as Morton quickly punched him square in the face, sending Junior flying across the floor. "Keep your mouth shut you little prick or you wont see daylight ever again." 

Wendy quickly zapped Morton with her wand. "Hey, let's do the fighting outside when we're NOT lost!" 

Junior reluctantly got up and threw a glare at Morton before heading off on his own again, with the rest following. 

"Well anyway," muttered Morton, "Before that bullshit occurred, I was talking about how Kylie came to me. You apparently haven't heard anything. Aren't you the official gossip lady?" 

"Well, yeah. I pretty much know what's going on with who's going out with who. Some people are just too much to themselves though." 

"I'll just say this. She was given to me." 

"Given?" 

"Yeah. It's not like this was supposed to be some arranged marriage or something. But I was told that she wouldn't be with me forever anyways. I was also told to keep all of this a secret, so that's all you're going to know." 

Wendy rolled her eyes. "So basically, you and Kylie was all show?" 

"...pretty much. If she found was she was supposed to find, then she's not coming back." 

"Find what?" asked Wendy, but Morton said nothing as the trio entered what seemed to be a large room with a yellow warp pipe in the center. 

"This is it." said Junior. "This leads to the outskirts of the restaurant, about a mile away or so." 

Morton fleshed out his cell phone. "I'm going give him a little message." Punching in several digits, he sent off the message with a beep. "Alright. Knowing Roy, he'll be here in about 10 minutes." 

"Wonderful." muttered a sarcastic Junior. If there was one person he could not stand more than Morton, it was Roy Koopa. There was a moment of silence. 

"Well, what are you waiting for?" blurted an impatient Wendy. She quickly jumped onto the pipe and warped out of the room. Seconds later, she found herself underneath a dark starry sky in what appeared to be nothing but dry flatland's with a great smoldering ruin not far off in one direction. 

"Yup, this is the spot!" explained Junior, coming out the warp pipe. "It's only a matter of time before I'm back at the castle again!" 

As Morton exited the warp pipe followed by a large number of people, Wendy felt her cell phone vibrate. She opened it and was rather surprised to see that it was a text message from Kylie Koopa. 

"Hey Wendy. You probably noticed that I went away. It was fun while it lasted, but I have a different path to take. I know you can figure all of this out. Good luck in the future. <3 Kylie" 

Wendy quickly looked at Morton then back at her phone again. It was becoming apparent that Morton was not lying in his confession from earlier. Indeed, their relationship seemed to be nothing more than a coverup for something even greater. The problem was, Wendy didn't know who Kylie was with before all of this. 

"Why didn't I ask her?" she asked herself. "Oh wait...I did." 

"What are you mumbling about?" asked Morton. 

"Nothing. But, you were right about Kylie. She's not coming back." 

Morton looked the other way. "Yeah." was all he could conjure up. 

A few moments later, a large ship was seen quickly approaching their location. The flag was purple with an imprint of Roy's head in the center. 

"Here comes the world's biggest asshole." muttered Junior under his breath. The ship slowed and hovered above the group, blowing huge gusts of air in their direction. Eventually, a door opened on its side and a ramp was lowered. 

"Bowser Junior!" said one guard on the top of the ramp, saluting him. "Wendy O., Morton Jr.! Roy has arrived to rescue you and the party! Please step aboard!" 

One by one the Koopalings walked up the ramp, watching their step as the wind of the desert tried its part in returning all to the sand. As Wendy approached the inner cabin of the ship, she couldn't help but look back and wonder if Kylie's disappearance was in any related to Larry's speech from earlier. "I wonder..." she said aloud before she entered the interior bowels of the doomship.

* * *

Iggy Koopa awoke with a groan. He was met with the endless starry expanse that he saw before darkness overtook him. A part of him wished he was still dreaming that none of this was real. He felt like going back to sleep and never waking up again. A pleasant as that was, he knew the reality. It was just the simple fact on his mind that he was living within a living dream. 

Mental debates aside, he pushed aside his apathy as well as the covers to rise out of bed. He sleepily walked over to the mirror and stared at what the pillows did to his hair that night. They seemed to have a pretty interesting hair styling technique as all of Iggy's hair was curved to the right. Smirking to himself at the sight, Iggy looked about the room for the remedy to his unfortunate debacle, and saw a potential solution in the way of a open door on the other side of the room. He missed it the night before in his walk of over-tiredness. A shower adjacent to his room was very convenient indeed. 

But before he walked inside, he noticed a blinking inside of his shell. Reaching into it, he took out his PDA. Iggy looked at the screen, which displayed a new message icon. He opened it to find 3 new messages. He played the first one. 

"Hello, this is Luigi. Don't worry, I have no problems with you right now. Actually, I'm calling about the letter I sent to your mailbox. I'm not sure you had the chance to look through it yet considering you've just arrived, but I'll be hosted a meeting about survival during the pole shift. I'm not sure you would be interested in participating or not, but what we do is pick the best leaders in our group and set up survival shelters on the planet's surface. I understand your younger brother Larry has something he's been cooking up for a while now and he's supposed to give many of the details in the next meeting. Well, if you are interested in attending or starting a shelter of your own, then feel free to drop by our meeting room in M69-2635. I look forward to seeing you there! Goodbye!" 

"Survival shelter, huh?" Iggy was certainly interested in the idea, but he wasn't too keen on leading a large group of people. He preferred to work alone. Then again, an idea had been rolling around in Iggy's brain for some time now. Perhaps that place could be used as a shelter after all. Iggy skipped to the next message. 

"Iggy, call me." 

"Penny?" The message ended as soon as it started. "That was weird." He decided to call her back when he was more awake. He skipped to the third message. 

"Hello Ignatius, please call me when you are prepared for the second half of the orientation. The council has convened and will remain so for another 2 hours until dinner. It would be disgraceful to have you show up late." 

"Blah blah blah..." Iggy muttered to himself. He looked at the time on the PDA and realized that he had slept nearly 14 hours and that it was already late afternoon. Iggy wondered how often he would be able to do that.

Putting his PDA back into his shell, Iggy wandered over to the room he did not see the other night. Walking through the door frame, Iggy saw that it was indeed a shower, a very luxurious one at that. The room was covered in black marble from head to toe, with with a large glass bowl on the right serving as his sink. Various towels were hung up on the left wall to accommodate the more fascinating sight in front of him, something he had dreamed about for some time. 

Iggy walked forward to the main shower and looked at it with a sheepishly tired grin. A rectangle hole was cut into the wall just below the ceiling, with several knobs and levers below this. Closing the glass door behind him, he twisted one of the levers and received exactly what he expected: a waterfall torrent that splashed onto his head, immediately destroying his pillow's wonderful hairstyle. 

"Ahhh..." Iggy grunted, finally happy to feel something so relaxing. To say that his adventure stressed him out was an understatement. He had been holding out for as long as he could for any kind of relief, whether it be alcohol, a hot tub or perhaps a nice hot waterfall. How the architects of his room even knew of his desire to have one, Iggy did not know. But it didn't really concern him. 

Iggy grabbed a bottle of shampoo and lathered his hair with it as a million thoughts and worries flushed out of his mind. There was something nagging at him though. It has been nagging him for many years, or so it felt. Always there on the side and never obvious, but one can feel its presence when noticed. But a thought interrupted his mind. 

"Thank you, I appreciate it." 

"Hm? I thought I was over that." Iggy thought aloud. He knew that denial was at work on both sides. If he really wanted to, he could probably pursue it. After all, his very father Bowser was undeniably caught in a very dangerous game with Princess Toadstool. But Iggy was no Princess snatcher, nor was he very much of a romantic. At least he thought so. 

"Or you just suck." he muttered to himself, washing the shampoo from his head. That was probably true in some ways. Even if they were to get together, how long would it be before some argument would break it up? They argued constantly over the tiniest issues imaginable, which Iggy now realized held very little merit in the future. If he could some stem them from continuing, then perhaps things could look up. 

"Perhaps..." Iggy grabbed the soap from a notch in the wall. It was even the right brand. Everything that he wanted was falling into place, even those things that seemed impossible to grasp from before. Everything seemed to be rotating the opposite direction now. Iggy wondered if he would be oppressing too many people with his new found position. 

That made him remember something Ludwig told him. The Galaxy was supposedly an entire culture unto itself with no rules, restrictions, biases, racism or prejudice. Iggy knew that was not only influenced by Bowser and Peach, but also that with the current atmosphere of doom and gloom and the civilization of the world reaching its end, the idea of being able to do anything that was imaginable was a very nice prospect. Realizing this fact alone bothered Iggy greatly for many reasons. Most of it was personal. He could still deny it from before, but... 

"It's not going to go away." he muttered to himself. With the freedom that he now had, he knew it was best to try to resolve this as soon as he possibly could. He and Penny had been friends for many years, ever since the founding of the Inventor's Board. He knew he was terrible with relationships and despised people in general. But the nagging in his heart wouldn't leave him alone. He needed to fix it. 

Turning off the facet to the waterfall, he opened the glass door and grabbed a towel to dry his hair. There was many things he always wanted to do in life. He wanted his own laboratory, which had now occurred when he arrived at the Galaxy. He wanted to be a pioneer in genetics and unlock the hidden abilities he knew lay dormant within the Koopa DNA. He had somewhat of a desire to open a geneticist shop as ordering everything on the Internet was not the fastest option. Looking at himself in the mirror, he knew there were other things he refused to bring to his conscious mind. They could wait for a while. He already brought one heart-aching issue to light and that was enough for one day. 

After taking some mouthwash and spitting into the sink, he made his way out of the bathroom and back toward the other side of his room to see what was in the big black and spiky dresser that was underneath his mirror. Sure enough, his favorite pair of boxers lay within, all 20 duplicates of them. He put one on and crawled into his shell that he left on the floor the night previous. He stood up and felt the blood rush through his legs. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but for once, it didn't seem to matter him. He felt like he deserved it. 

He grabbed his trademark glasses from the bureau next to his bed and put them on. "I'm hungry." he said to himself. Deciding to indulge his stomach, he walked to the giant set of tinted glass doors, which opened automatically. He walked down through the open living room to the table at the opposite end of the room, where he had previously left the instructions to his apartment. But he then remembered Ludwig's message from earlier. Taking out his PDA, he navigated back to the message and hit the reply button on the keypad.

"Yes Ignatius, thank you for responding. I hope you rested well." 

"Hi Ludwig." said Iggy. "You said something about the next part of my induction." 

"The council was notified that you were prepared to undergo the 2nd half of your initiation. Although I will admit, it could have been a little more timely." 

"Larry didn't say a thing to me about being exactly on time, so blame him." 

There was a sigh on the other end. "Very well then. We shall now begin the orientation." 

"Can I at least have something to eat first? I'm starving." complained Iggy. 

"You will during the ceremony. Now, I recommend not moving any part of your posterior for the next several seconds..." 

"Why?" As soon as Iggy said this, he found himself surrounded in a bright blue light that completely blocked his field of vision. When the light dimmed down, he no longer found himself in his room, but in a much, much larger room than before. Surrounding him were many people, as if he were the star of a major performance within a stadium. The lower rows were filled with people largely cram packed together, seemingly the lesser denizens of the Galaxy vying to see the next inductee into their club. The upper levels were much different. Surrounded by various lights encircling the stadium, these levels housed many of the more important members of the planet who now turned their attention to the Koopaling in silence. Iggy immediately identified Wario on the highest level, surrounded by many plates of food and scantly clad servants all under the banner of the great W. He snickered to himself, as if Iggy was expected. 

"This is pretty good." said Wario, finally breaking the still silence as he cut into his large plate of chicken parmesan. A servant said something in his ear. "Made by Torte? I wouldn't trust a mushroom chef out of my ass, heh, but I need to give it to him. Say, you hungry?" He pointed his fork at Iggy. Many other faces turned to the Koopaling awaiting a response. 

"Considering I haven't eaten a complete meal since my own adventure began, that would be...appreciated." 

"Heh heh..." Wario chuckled to himself. The others murmured amongst themselves. 

"Tell me, what's your favorite?" said a voice. Iggy turned to the Bowser section to find that it came from Mouser. "You can get anything here." 

Iggy thought to himself. "I haven't looked at all the shops yet-" 

"Trust me buddy, when I say anything, I mean anything. You can have anything you want." 

"I'll just have my usual then." said Iggy. "A pepperoni, bacon and prosciutto pizza." 

It was quiet once again for a moment. Iggy was finally able to see Bowser, sitting underneath a massive flag to the Koopa Kingdom, featuring the trademark red Bowser head. With his arms crossed and a growing frown, he seemed frustrated. Iggy had the feeling that things may be pretty now, but they could get ugly very soon. At length, Bowser nodded and almost instantly, a table was raised in front of him with the pizza laying there, along with a glass of water. 

"Please sit." said Ludwig Von Koopa, sitting to Bowser's right. Iggy found a large chair behind and promptly sat upon it. As soon as he did, 7 glowing star crystals suddenly floated up from below, encircling his position. They spun around rapidly until a large noise was heard. Iggy saw that he was entrapped within some type of barrier. 

"Of course, we fear for our own survival." said Dr. Crygor with his feet propped up. 

"It's not much use to trust someone who has selfish intentions. You never know when they will backstab us." said E. Gadd, leaning back in his chair. 

"Please excuse the necessary precautions." said Kamek. 

"Excused." said Iggy, taking a slice of pizza. "I'm sure many have gone insane knowing what is coming." 

There was much talk and murmur after his statement. Iggy realized that he was going to have to watch what he said from that point forward. 

"E. Gadd will be our interrogator. He has been voted by the council as the most neutral for this orientation." With this, E. Gadd stood up and floated out of his seat under a special levitating platform. A chair was raised across from Iggy, to which E. Gadd landed upon and sat down. 

"Welcome to the Galaxy, Iggy. Hoho." said E. Gadd. "I'm sure you've heard that phrase many a time by now. This is the second half of your orientation. We will be testing you to see if you truly qualify as a member of the Galaxy. Let us begin."

* * *

He rubbed his eyes. After an hour of questions, the Council called a half hour recess. Iggy was thankful; the questions were a little more than irritating on his ego. He knew that they were testing his integrity. But he honestly wondered if he deserved such treatment. 

"I don't deserve any of this crap." muttered Iggy to himself. Seated in a cafe just outside the council hall, he stared out a window at the endless expanse of stars before him. He wished he could go back home and tell the rest of his siblings what was really going on. He wondered if Larry felt the same way. Knowing him, he would've attempted to do something about rather than sit on his hands. 

Iggy suddenly remembered Penny's call. He grabbed his PDA and looked for her number in his contact list. 

"Hello. Are you busy?" 

Iggy looked up and to his surprise, found Mario next to him with a questionable look. Iggy looked back at his PDA. "Not yet." he quietly said, putting it away. Mario sat down on his chair across from him before ushering over one of the waiters. 

"Yes, a bowl of meatballs please." said Mario. The waiter simply nodded and walked off after giving Mario a glass of water. Iggy looked back out the window. He didn't like the prospect of Mario coming to see him personally. He was probably going to express his hatred for the family, as per the usual. 

Mario drank from his glass. "I was wrong about you guys. The spawn of Bowser." 

"The spawn of Bowser, huh?" Iggy smirked, but did not meet Mario's gaze. 

"I figured you were all the same." continued Mario. "Being the same blood of that tyrant. You and the rest always followed his orders, so I figured they must be up to no good again." 

"I never follow his orders." said Iggy, eying Mario. "And I never will again." 

"That's what I heard from your responses. But what if he decides to imprison you for not following him? What will you do then?" 

Iggy snorted. "He can try, but I don't think the council would agree to something so illogical, especially if they're serious about neutrality." 

Mario scratched his chin. The waiter returned with a fairly large bowl of meatballs drenched in marinara sauce as well as a mixed drink. "Thank you very much." said Mario and the waiter walked off. Mario wasted no time and dug into the meatballs like a coin digger. Iggy continued to stare out the window, lost in thought. 

At length, Mario looked up. "If you became a member, what would you do?" 

Finally, Iggy ripped himself away from the window and looked at Mario. "It's not a matter of what I want to do, as to what I should be doing." 

"Oh? What do you want to do?" 

"Probably the same as everyone else. Tell the world what's going on." 

"You know, I tried that once." Mario said, wiping his face with a napkin. "That was before the Galaxy was formed. Merlin the wizard found it one day while he was giving a reading for me. I knew I had to tell the princess this, but when I told her, she wouldn't believe it. Mama mia. None of her servants did, either. Even when I showed her a picture of it, she found it hard to believe. It was not until the Galaxy was built and she came up here herself that she believed it. 

Well, here's my point. Even if everyone deserves to know what's happening, that doesn't mean they'll believe what's happening. Do you follow?" 

"I suppose." muttered the Koopaling. 

"Someone will deny anything that goes against their perfect world. You can't force them to believe something they do not want to believe." Mario ate another meatball in one bite. "Like right now. No one wants to believe that, but that's the way it is. So, knowing that, what should you be doing?" 

Iggy was silent for a moment. "Starting a survival group of some kind. We're not going to be up here forever." 

"You're right." Mario ate another meatball. "Well, I can definitely say you're getting into the Galaxy." 

"Oh, so you do rig the outcome?" asked Iggy. 

"No, it's a simple fact. The thing that's most important is how each new member can contribute to the Galaxy. Do they have knowledge others can use? A specific set of skills? If they can be useful in this society and show selfless integrity, then there's a good chance of being accepted. It's the selfish people that have a harder time. Your idea of a survival group may not be new, but it shows selflessness which is valued here." 

Iggy was silent. 

"Well, we better head back to last half of your interrogation." Mario stood up. "It should not be as bad as the first half with Bowser drilling you for answers. It'll be a more even playing field this time." 

"That's good." said Iggy nonchalantly, standing up and following Mario back to the council hall.

* * *

The council hall doors opened and a multitude of people flowed forth, conversing amongst each other. 

"Are you sure you don't to be beamed back to your room?" came a voice. 

Iggy turned and faced the mushroom. "No thanks, Toad. I need to get some air." 

"Okay." said Toad, smiling. "Congratulations on your new Galaxy membership." 

Iggy looked at him for a moment. "Thank you. I wouldn't be here without you." 

Toad shrugged. "I guess that's the way things worked out." 

"Yeah." 

Turning away, Iggy walked down a massive set of stairs that led to the council courtyard. He had no idea where he was after being beamed to the council chamber earlier. It didn't really matter to him at that moment. He pushed open the double doors to the council chamber and turned right. From his orientation, it became clear to him that many of the people he knew had changed dramatically thanks to the Galaxy. They seemed careless when they should be planning their next moves to survive. The Galaxy was within orbit, yes, but who knows how long it would stay there? Technology was a fragile thing, its so-called strength often times an illusion. Ironically, survival was better on the surface in Iggy's opinion. 

Iggy turned another corner and walked into an escalator heading down from the very top of the Galaxy. Luigi's suggestion of a survival group kept propping up in his mind. Iggy's idea for a location was excellent and the best he could think of, but it was a bit inaccessible at the moment. Thoughts of various pieces of machinery clouded his mind, trying to think of the best ways to uncover the behemoth in a short period of time. More than likely, he needed to design most of the excavation machines himself. Perhaps he could create a construction company for this purpose? 

With these thoughts in mind, Iggy got off the escalator and walked in another random direction, creating a new future for himself. It became evident that he was going to need a notebook to jot the engine design that was now forming in his mind. Reaching for his PDA, he tried out the find feature by punching in the word "notebook." The screen flashed and the closest store was seen, only around the corner. He quickly darted into it and gained a planning pad and a pencil, scanned his PDA for the cashier, then walked quickly out the store. 

He kept walking until it became evident that he had walked from the Koopa column into the Yoshi column. Lush trees dotted the walls with vines and other leafy things covered everything else, practically making it an artificial jungle. Different colored Yoshi's were mostly seen, with some Koopa's and Toad's roaming about. Many of them seemed to enjoy eating red fruit off some of the trees while talking to each other. One of the shops was a Yoshi grill, where a cook used unhatched Yoshi eggs to make omelets. 

But Iggy kept walking, not interested. An idea of a molecularizer ran across his mind and he tried to find the best way to power it. Solar? Perhaps, but the power may not be enough to support the torque it would have to go through. He could lower the height of the machine, but that would reduce production output. Batteries would be nice if he wasn't working in the middle of nowhere where infrastructure was too thin. 

He tried to think of a solution, but found his thoughts were cut off by what sounded like tribal music. He looked ahead and saw a parade of Yoshi's marching towards him. He darted to the side and watched as they slowly marched past him. The larger Yoshi's were beating upon war drums while the smaller Yoshi children were all blowing through kazoo's. Iggy thought it almost sounded ridiculous. He did admire the banner they hoisted, which showed two dots surrounded by a long oval line, one of the ancient symbols of the Great Destroyer. 

Iggy continued to walk along, moving past the parade. "Didn't even let me eat a slice," he muttered to himself. The council's questioning was ruthless and unrelenting to the extent that he didn't have much of the pizza in the end. He felt like eating somewhere to finish his appetite. He saw ahead of him a nice looking restaurant, filled with plants and waterfalls. He wondered how much of the menu was vegetarian. 

Walking to the front of the restaurant, he looked at the sign posted at the front. Most of it was berry specials. 

"Your family really hates you." 

Iggy turned around and saw that it was Penny Crygor. "Yeah? Most of my siblings don't care what I do. Bowser is the one who hates my guts. You went to orientation?" 

Penny nodded. "Bowser wouldn't stop asking questions about how I got into the Galaxy. What did you tell him about that?" 

Iggy smirked. "That it was my business and not his. The whole chamber went into an uproar." He walked inside the restaurant. "How did you find me?" 

"There's a people finder on it you can use after you add someone to your contact list." 

"Oh." Iggy walked up to one of the Yoshi's. "Yeah, table for two please." 

"Yoshi!" it said, walking around the corner. The two followed it until it stopped next to a table, which was near the edge of a large circular waterfall, falling into a pool below. It made funny Yoshi noises as it gave Iggy and Penny the menus. After the two sat down, it bowed before them in service. 

"Yoshi yoshi yoshi." said Iggy, almost humorously. The Yoshi nodded and walked away. 

"Were you actually talking to them in their language?" asked Penny. 

"No." 

"That's mean." She opened her menu and scanned the pages. 

"Actually, not really. To completely understand their one worded grunt language, one must understand how even slight variations in the pitch and tones of the word Yoshi can mean completely different things. I don't have the time or the patience for that." He put his notebook down and glanced through the menu. 

Penny glanced at it. "But you have the patience to invent whatever it is you're inventing right now." 

"That's far more important." He closed the menu and began to make a sketch. "It's for a survival group Luigi invited me to." 

"You got that too? I've been trying to think of a good spot that hasn't been taken yet, but can only think of one place." 

"Oh?" mused Iggy. "Where would that be?" 

"Why would I tell an idea stealer?" 

Iggy rolled his eyes. "I did not steal your engine design. But anyway, I can guarantee you, my location is one of the best places in the world for a pole shift shelter. Well, if I can get to it that is." He completed several sets of squares and rectangles on his notepad. "I can think of one other place, but Ludwig is probably hoarding that one." 

Penny frowned. "...better than the temple of Inauro?" 

"Yes, I was there actually, past and present. It has a good underground capacity for several thousand people, but once the entrance is sealed off, there's no way out of there. It becomes a tomb." 

"I know that! I was thinking about making two more exits..." 

"Yoshi!" said another yoshi, walking over to the two. 

"I think we need to order." Penny looked at her menu again. "I'll have the red berry salad. Oh, and a bowl of guarana juice." The Yoshi made several noises in response. 

Iggy tapped the pencil on his notepad. "A Caesar salad, scrambled yoshi egg pizza, a glass of pineapple and coconut juice and another glass of spiced rum on the rocks." 

The yoshi slowly nodded before making another grunt and heading off. Iggy scribbled a set of random numbers in the corner and drew an arrow to an empty space on the page, circling the area south of the complex of squares. 

"Best if I help you with that." said Iggy. 

"Why? I can just get my grandad to make something." 

"Because your survival site is in the middle of a huge complex that I'll be digging up. That entire area is almost entirely buried under sand. I knew something was there the whole time, but getting the funding to dig it all up was a problem." 

"I thought the temple of Inauro and the surrounding ruin were the only things there." 

Iggy shook his head. "For a long time, the tomb of Marthos, 'The Hammer' he was called, has eluded me. He was one of the legendary kings, the kings thought to exist only as a myth and not in reality. Despite that, I kept looking. I sent a high frequency wave across portions of the desert, hoping to get a counter signal of some kind. Most of the complex was said to be encased entirely in titanium, so such a signal would most definitely bounce back. But the desert is a huge place and it wasn't until recently that I stumbled onto something." He tapped his finger in the circle. "That was the first signal bounce and it's been bouncing ever since. Another strong signal appeared just north of the complex." He drew another circle. 

"Iggy, why didn't this get published?" said Penny. "If the existence of one of those can be proven, then it means the early history of the Koopa's aren't just a mere legend." 

"Lack of funding failed to show any results to prove my point," explained Iggy. "That was thanks to that tyrant's lasting hatred of me. The whole project got shelved as a result and we all continued with our lives. I ended up forgetting about it. The dig would have been more costly than the dig at Birabuto." 

"With the Galaxy, you have more than enough to dig this up now." 

"Exactly." Iggy glared at Penny. "That's why this must never go public. If Bowser finds out about a shelter far better than his small-minded plans, then I'm done for. Not everyone can be allowed into these places." 

Penny sighed. 

"I want a group that I can trust. The idea of saving everybody is grand and all that, but if one person can destroy all of it through greed, pride or whatnot, then the whole thing is a failure in the end." 

The Yoshi brought the previously ordered drinks for the two, then quickly walked off. Iggy sipped his pineapple and coconut drink and leaned back. "Ahh, this always tastes good." 

"Okay," Penny began, "So basically, your survival site is a complex that's mostly underground, but that includes the temple of Inauro, right?" 

"Pretty much," said Iggy. "I mean, you can still keep your site, if you want. It's not a big deal to me." 

Penny did not reply. She stared at the raging waterfall in front of her, lost in thought. Iggy made a face then went back to his notebook with an idea he just had. "28Hz..." he muttered to himself. That was the frequency which was shot at the south side of the complex. What still puzzled him was that at the time, the complex reflected a signal of 29Hz at him in response. If anything, the bounce should have been weaker, and it was on the northern side, which reflected at a frequency of 14Hz. It made Iggy wonder what the thing was really made of. 

Iggy drank from his glass of spiced rum. He had a hard time remembering, but he also recalled that the 29Hz was also not composed of the same wave matter that was sent there. "I don't think I figured that out..." he muttered to himself. He scribbled a note to himself to figure out that dilemma later. 

"So, you didn't steal my design.." Penny asked suddenly. 

Iggy almost laughed. "You weren't listening, were you? You want me to draw a copy of my design so you'll finally be convinced?" 

"Well, no--" 

"Then I'll just briefly explain the differences. The hydrogen injectors are a completely different design. Mine is a bottle-nose while yours is more of a straightedge. You also use about 20% more hydrogen than I do, but my recycling system which turns it into a liquid and back is more efficient. There's also the basic differences in shell construction, such as me using Cadmium while you use Aluminum. But here's the biggest difference. Mine doesn't work at all." 

She laughed. "Neither does mine." Iggy chuckled with her for a moment. But Penny had to wipe tears from her eyes. "Sorry." 

Iggy frowned. He took a sip from his pineapple and coconut juice and tried to calm himself. "It was the whole 'all Koopa's are evil' thing, I know. It would be nice for people to get over that one day." 

Penny did not reply. She tried to recompose herself amid sniffles. Iggy looked over at the waterfall in silence, its relaxing ambiance helping him concentrate. It was certainly possible, but... 

"You know," Penny started, sitting back up in her seat, "You know I didn't mean all of that." 

Iggy smiled. "Yeah. Don't worry, I'm used to it. We had it beat into us when we were kids thanks to Mario's rhetoric." 

Penny smiled. She drank from her small bowl of guarana juice. "Good, because I'll be working with you on this." 

"That makes things so much easier." Iggy said. 

"You think so? I have high expectations of the temple and will probably be nitpicking you the whole time about it." 

"Only if you don't agree with my own plans for it." 

"Here we go again. The temple is still my site and I already know what I'm doing with it. You better have good suggestions." 

"Oh, I do. And I know they will be implemented regardless." 

Penny huffed. "Boy, are you overconfident." 

Iggy crossed his arms with a smirk. He had a plan. 

"Yoshi yoshi!" 2 Yoshi waiters arrived with their meals. 

"Thanks guys, but there's been a change of plans. Could you send our entire order to my room?" 

"What!?" 

"Yoshi!" The Yoshi's nodded. 

"I'm sure you guys have my room address." 

The Yoshi's waved and walked off. Iggy stood up and stretched. He then noticed Penny staring at him. 

"Oh, I figured I could show you what I had planned for the temple. Thing is, the layout for the temple is on one of my laptops. Plus, since you're surrounded by my entire complex, it'd probably be good to learn what I have in store for the area." 

"Who said I'd agree to that?" argued Penny. 

"I didn't." Iggy admitted. "But you could have rejected my offer just now, but you didn't. If you don't come, I guess I'll just end up eating your food at some point." 

Penny made a face. 

"Well, hope to see you there." And with that, Iggy walked away, leaving a very irritated Penny sitting alone. "What an asshole." She put her head in her hand and tried to calm herself down, but she found herself more and more unable to sit still. It was a sneaky move for sure, but she was interested what Iggy had in store for her project. There was also the simple fact that he had her food now. And plus... 

"Give me a break..." she said to herself, finally getting up and chasing after Iggy.

* * *

After shutting the door, Roy Koopa plopped himself down upon his big leather seat and leaned back. 

"I hate that punk." he muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling. In the old days when he was younger, he would've simply knocked Bowser Junior into an unconscious mess. That was before he and the rest of his siblings were forced to act a little more civil due to the coming of age. Playing politics was fun and trolling others was even better, but trolling other trolls was something he tended to stray away from. 

Something bigger was on his mind. He turned on the monitor to his computer and plugged in his phone with a cable. Typing for a bit, he gained access to one of the Koopa Space Agency's satellites, designed to discover any close asteroids, or so they say. He plugged in the coordinates he had received earlier on his phone. He hesitated for a second, then pressed enter on his keyboard. Immediately, the satellite repositioned itself to his ascribed position and took a photograph. Seconds later, the result presented itself on Roy's monitor. 

"No kiddin'." Why pops didn't tell him about this place was beyond him. It had to be for a good reason, or so he thought. Larry's information spooked him though. Classifying this as top secret made enough sense, but why wasn't he told about something as massive as this? That meant it couldn't be military. 

Regardless, Roy knew it didn't matter. He had exposed himself to the information and he'd be collected like Larry was in short time. But he couldn't help but smile to himself. He never liked things to be that easy. With a few more keystrokes, he placed the picture and the coordinates on his phone and disconnected it from his computer. He began to write a text message on his phone. He knew how the game played, but he was stubborn. He couldn't back away from his words at the Golden Koopa, especially not now. 

Simultaneously, he opened his fridge and took out a Heineken. Placing it on the counter he grabbed his bottle opener just as he finished the title of his text, "Here it is." He opened the bottle in one swift stroke and took a quick chug. "Only for da weak." he said to himself as he selected the recipients of the message, which included most of his siblings. "Only for da weak..." He clicked send and chugged down his beer. This was going to be one hell of a ride.


	11. Inauguration Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Kong Jungles are overswept with a volcanic eruption, destroying the Kong Hut and forcing Funky Kong to forfeit his stake in Luigi's poker game. Larry leaves it and checks in on his latest progress with his new shelter. Meanwhile, Roy is interrogated by the council for his actions but not all fingers are pointed to him, as Bowser makes it clear that his second in command left much to be desired.

Dusk was approaching in the jungle. The outcries of tropical birds ceased, snakes hid in their burrows and many Kremlings were back in their makeshift homes, enjoying roasted parrot over an open fire. There was still one swinging amongst the vines of the trees. Adorned with a red hat and a shirt of the same color, Diddy Kong was headed home after another day looking for bananas to add to the horde. He's been having a hard time lately; many of the banana trees had begun to mysteriously die off. Diddy wasn't sure what was causing it. The jungle received plenty of monsoon rains, in fact more so than usual. He was also on good terms with the Kremlings lately, so he was sure they weren't up to anything. Whatever it was, it disturbed him greatly.

Diddy jumped onto the deck of the Kong tree house that hid amongst the trees. Walking inside, he found that his father Donkey Kong was once again not home. He wondered where he had been going lately, as it was unlike him to travel anywhere after dusk. Not that it was a total bother: he had the kitchen to himself, as well as the shower for once. Diddy crawled to the kitchen and thought about making some banana puree topped with mango and coconut. Unfortunately, that was when he felt the rumble beneath his feet.

"Whaa!" he cried, knowing what that meant. He ran outside of the Kong hut and looked toward the nearby mountain range and saw his fears confirmed. A huge billowing volcanic cloud was seen rising into the air, with lava flowing down the highest peak. But it wasn't until he saw the rampaging animals heading in his direction that he saw the biggest danger.

"Whaaaa!!!!" He bolted away from the bunkhouse as fast as he could, trying to outrun the pyroclastic flow. Many of the Kremlings he ran past were absolutely clueless as to their danger and wondered why so many animals were running before the immense cloud completely over-swept them. Diddy knew he would be safe if he could make it to Funky's Flights. But the flow was inching closer toward him and he also knew his legs couldn't keep up with it.

Thinking of a back up plan, he darted down a ravine to his right, swinging among the tree vines. But a blast of air at that moment made him overshoot his target and he flew into the air with a cry before the volcanic cloud over swept him.

* * *

"Aaaaaaaand...POWER UP, MAN! Three stars, you ain't beating that!"

"Fuck that." Kooper threw his cards at the table. "You have to be cheating, that's not possible!"

Funky Kong let out a large guffaw. "Once in a lifetime hand, I'm telling ya!"

The other players turned over their cards in dismay. Mona crossed her arms with a frown. "I had three fire flowers too."

"It's amazing, man! I've never had a hand so rad in my life!"

"Yeah, we got it." said a slightly annoyed Larry Koopa, tossing his hand into the discard pile. 

"You get the honors this week." said Luigi, placing his cards on the table then leaning back with Daisy next to him. "We've had a lot of newcomers to the Galaxy lately."

"Haha, I already have my target." said Funky, leaning back. Several Toad's approached the group with bottles of Don Pinata branded rum. Each member of the group took one of each. 

"I love this stuff." Kooper opened his and took a quick chug. "Koopie will go bonkers when she sees this. Anyway, who's your pick of the week, Funky?"

But Funky's eyes were glued to the TV on the far wall. 

"Huh?" Kooper looked where Funky was staring at and was quite dismayed. On the television was a live report of what appeared to be a major catastrophe. "The pyroclastic flow just ended moments ago. We know that it swept down through the Japes Valley, where the main Kong residence was supposed to be located-"

"SHIT!!!" Funky immediately stood up and bolted out of the room, leaving a dazed and silent poker party behind.

"That was just a volcano." Mona muttered to herself. Kooper sighed and played around with his PDA. 

"Volcano's can create firestorms." said Ashley, finally speaking up.

"That's true." said Luigi. 

"Firestorms?" questioned Daisy. "You mean the kind where fire rains down from the sky and consumes everything?"

"In a way." said Luigi. "It also consumes all the air around it, making it very dangerous. Chances are, if someone is caught in the middle of a firestorm, they probably wouldn't live."

"Oh god, I hope that doesn't happen to me."

Luigi looked back at the television and saw that some of the jungle had already caught fire from the lava flows alone. "I think it would be wise to call it a night. I'll page all of you when the next one will be."

"Good idea." said Larry, looking over at Ashley who was somewhat drooping over. For a moment, he thought about asking to walk her back, but he had things to do at his pad. Besides, he still wasn't entirely sure about her. 

After exchanging goodbyes , Larry walked out of the bar and into the greater areas of the Galaxy. Eventually, he reached the central courtyard of the Galaxy where Larry saw Donkey Kong disembarking on one of his shuttles. He looked at his PDA and suddenly facepalmed, shaking his head. He turned around and boarded the shuttle again.

"Wow, it sucks to be the Kong's today." Larry muttered to himself. The disasters were slowly starting to ramp up. Unfortunately, it seemed as though most didn't care what was going on unless it personally affected themselves. 

"It doesn't matter." Larry muttered to himself. He walked into the Koopa section of the Galaxy where he passed a bowling store. Being a fan of bowling, Larry couldn't help himself but enter it and see what he could get for himself. Passing by rows of random paraphernalia, he came to the balls and casually looked through the selection. He came across a size 14 ball that was colored in metallic gold and sported a bright blue flame. Thinking it fit with his collection, he picked it up and walked to the cashier.

"Hey, could you send this to my room?" Larry handed the ball to the koopa behind the counter. The Koopa placed it upon a platform which subequently lowered and the ball disappeared. Larry took out his PDA and ran it across a laser scanner, which beeped in response. 

"Thank you Larry and have a good day!" said the cashier. Larry waved as he exited the store and headed in the general direction of his room. After a few minutes of walking, he got onto an elevator and  pressed the coordinates to his room. Upon arriving, he walked off and stared at his door. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to remember the latest password that he coded into his door. 

"Turkey."

"Rejected." chimed a mechanical voice. Red was seen on the display.

"Oh right." 

"Rejected."

Larry snorted. He knew it was something special. After some thinking, he finally remembered.

"Black rose."

"Accepted." The door finally opened and Larry entered. Almost immediately upon entry, a giant red and white piranha plant popped out of a warp pipe to greet Larry with a hiss and two giant rows of sharp teeth.

"Hey Ted." said Larry, rubbing the piranha plant's head. Ted hung out its tongue, drooling saliva all over the carpet in anticipation of food.

Larry smirked. "Not yet Ted, I have to do some things first." Ted sulked in response and allowed Larry to pass into his living room, adorned with leather couches and various species of piranha plants lined against the wall, all artificially watered and fed inside their pipes. Off to the sides of the room were the kitchen set up to Larry's right where his bowling ball was sitting atop a platform. Taking it, he walked to the left side of his room where he had a personal bowling alley set up. Placing the ball on a rack, he thought about playing a quick game, but knew he needed to get some things done first. 

He turned and walked to the back of the living room with the piranha's snapping at him as he past them. Walking up a few steps, he sat down in his leather seat in front of his massive computer set up, now made up of 12 monitors. Placing his thumb on a fingerprint reader, the system quickly booted up, showing graphs, instant messages and live camera's from various locations on the Mushroom World. The one he was most interested in was the screen on the middle far right, showing a dark stormy sky and a black monstrosity set upon a large mountain amidst a rocky wasteland. Towards the left was an ocean and a lighter sky, with the sun trying to find its way through. In the bottom left of the feed were the words "Eternal Fortress Genlic," Larry's survival shelter for the pole shift. He pressed something on the screen and a large hologram of the feed appeared next to him.

Genlic was truly something out of this world. Much of the fortress was constructed from either a reflective black stone of unknown composition and what could be called a black glass, with ascending tooth-like appendages rising from many of the tops of the walls. According to legend, it was one of the oldest structures on the face of the world. Constructed of an unknown and nearly unbreakable substance, it has stood the test of time over thousands of years and through hundreds of battles. Only a single tower was damaged, allegedly during the reign of Inauro Koopa whose alchemists had found a way to damage it. But that knowledge had since been lost and the impregnability of Genlic returned, its dark atmosphere and hostile lands a major threat to those who would dare to try to overtake the ancient Koopa fortress. 

Rumor had reached Larry that the first Koopa of his family, only known as "King Koopa," was buried somewhere within the fortress. He wondered if it was true. But in any case, a Koopa worker stepped in front of the screen and saluted Larry. "Yes sir!" 

"How much of the caravan got in today?" asked Larry.

The soldier looked behind him towards a long line of trucks and people heading into the main gate. 'We unloaded another 50 trucks today and about 100 more people were placed into the survival areas."

"Is the greenhouse at the 10,000 quota yet?"

"Yes, I was informed of that this morning. We should have the capacity to feed 50,000 within a few days, sir."

"Good. How about our defenses?"

"We still haven't been able to figure out how to activate them. The...controls simply wont budge."

Larry hummed in thought. "Okay, thank you and keep up the good work."

The soldier saluted. "Sir!" Larry pressed the screen again and the hologram disappeared. Larry was definitely happy now after hearing he had met his quota's for the week. At this rate, Genlic could be a major site for a large number of people. But he still worried about not being able to activate the defensive system. Supposedly, something was required to activate it, but Larry did not know what.

Deciding he was tired, he got up and walked to the right through a set of double doors to his main bedroom, which looked somewhat similar to Iggy's room save the bed, which was round and covered with black and red covers. Stretching, he took off his shell and threw it into the corner. Iggy this and Iggy that took a lot out of him, not to mention the multiple drinks that he had at multiple locations. Groggily walking up to his bed, he allowed himself to lean forward and collapse upon it, happy to be lying down. Walking around the giant behemoth that was the Galaxy was beginning to be exhausting for him. He wondered if he should suggest to Ludwig some type of moving sidewalk like those found at the airports.

* * *

"We received another 300 from the southeastern Mushroom district."

A virtual holographic map was spread upon an icy table, surrounded by Koopas, Mushrooms and other species dressed in winter clothing. On the far end, seated upon a high chair was Lemmy Koopa, the 2nd heir to the throne. He appeared to be only half paying attention, fighting the dreadful spell of sleep. It was only the frigid temperatures of the frozen north that kept him awake. His frantic escape out of the Golden Koopa and his unintentional rescue of a few hundred people made him pretty tired and he'd been unable to gain a wink of sleep since then. While he didn't drink nearly as much as some of his other siblings, he couldn't deny the cravings for some at that moment or anything that could put him out for a while. 

"Well, that new trade route should be able to feed them all." said a purple spotted mushroom with pigtails. To Lemmy, she seemed familiar.

"You're Toadette, right?" asked Lemmy.

"Y-yes." she said, looking a bit nervous. Lemmy remembered the disappearance of Toad at that moment. While it was suspected that he had been pulled close towards her highness Princess Peach, he had also completely disappeared from public view near where the new trade route was being set up. The thought made Lemmy remember Roy's message that he had received on his cell before the meeting.

"Alright, I'll let you take care of the logistics and all that stuff."

"Thank you!" said Toadette with a wide smile. Lemmy had guessed correctly.

"Excuse me sir," a Paratroopa flew up next to him. "There are some visitors here to see you at the balcony. They said you know the reason."

Lemmy frowned. He didn't think that he'd be spotted that quickly. He had hoped to at least make some preparations before he was to be nabbed by whatever mafia was controlling things behind the scenes. It made him wonder though. If he was getting nabbed now, then the rest of his siblings must be getting nabbed by now too. Lemmy wondered if this was a part of Roy's plan.

In any case, he turned back toward his people with a huff. "Looks like I have some unofficial business."

"Don't worry, dude." said a light blue Pianta. "We'll totally take care of things here."

"Okay." Lemmy jumped down from his seat and walked out towards the balcony before abruptly stopping. "Hey, you never said why you preferred the north pole verses the beach."

"Oh yeah! I sweat way too much dude, even for a Pianta like me. I still love the surf and the guava man, but I can't shake the squishy feeling, you follow me? I gotta come up here to cool it off."

"Cool." said Lemmy. "I just wouldn't surf these waves unless you like being an icicle. Because, it's kind of cold."

"I bet that feels so awesome..." said the Pianta. Lemmy shrugged and continued walking out to the balcony. He saw a floating vehicle surrounded by Toad's and Koopa's in black.

 

Lemmy was seen on one of the screens, seemingly being briefed by the Toad's about his situation. Next to it were many other screens, with the other Koopalings being shown in similar situations. Morton had an unreadable expression on his face. Wendy looked more than a little upset, yelling at her visitors before being forcefully dragged off by the suits. 

"This is intolerable." Bowser said under his breath, arms crossed with an annoyed look. On the bottom of the council hall upon a seat was Roy Koopa mimicking the movements of his father, with his arms crossed and seemingly staring into nothingness. The council was still deliberating amongst themselves of this latest development and the hall were filled with the chatter of many conversations.

"It seems to be pretty obvious to me that he simply wanted to show this...unidentified object to his siblings." said Merlin.

"'Unidentified object,' huh?" said Prince Peasley with his trademark grin. "Sounds to me he was being a little irresponsible. With a position like 'Second-in-Command,' I'm sure he's familiar with not talking about things when he's not supposed to."

"Say that to Wario." said Captain Syrup, rolling her eyes.

"What was that, dumb bitch?!"

"Shut up, all of you." said Bowser and the council hall immediately fell silent. "This is Koopa business and none of yours." He drank the entire contents of a mug in one gulp before clearing his throat. "Now,  the fault here is obviously Ludwig's. I should have never let him make the decision in the first place. You can trust me that such a decision will never be allowed...or made again."

Ludwig Von Koopa said nothing, tapping his claw on the table. His anger was not completely hidden, however.

"Now then," Bowser continued, "Let us question Roy and figure out why he decided to threaten the very existence of the Galaxy itself."

"Being in the military, I'm supposed to know these kinds of things."

"You are not privileged to know, otherwise you would've known by now."

Roy raised an eyebrow as he looked at the many faces of the council. "Really?" he said, smiling. "Heh, you know ya could have pulled dis-info on me instead, right?"

"How dare youhuh?" 

"Tell me the music I want to hear. Hell, that would've been better for you then sending me up here and showing me the works. But that's besides da point."

"What the hell is your point?!" said an irritated Bowser.

Roy looked out one of the windows on the ceiling. "Everyone's useful. They should make up their own minds about dis. But I say we should stick together. United we stand, divided we fall, that sort of thing."

Bowser grumbled. It was a concept that he had hated for a long time, but he knew Roy had a point. People did have their uses. 

"Then I have one more question for you." said Bowser. "Out of the Koopalings you sent the text to, why didn't Junior get one?"

Roy was silent for a moment. "We've been fightin' for a while. I thought it was pretty fair."

"Uh-huh."

"If its that big a deal, I can just text him now."

"No." said Bowser. "If he is anything like me, it would be best if he didn't know right now."

There was silence in the hall. Taking that as agreement, Bowser continued. "In any case, you are now a member of the Galaxy. Your other siblings probably will be too. But like everyone else, you need to be useful here, otherwise you'll be locked up and never see the light of day again."

"That's happened quite a bit." muttered Roy to himself.

"There will be a separate meeting here to address the appointment of a new Second-in Command, among other issues caused by my 'lieutenant.'" He glared at Ludwig, who did not meet his gaze, but continued to tap upon the table.

* * *

There was a door slam, followed by a heavy set of footsteps. A sweet classical tune played in the background, amid the sounds of rivers of lava as well as a large fountain that dominated much of the view. Along the far walls were pictures and ribbons of various achievements, as well as pedestals of various designs holding trophies, works of art, mechanical marvels among many other wonders. The floor was encrusted with beautiful lapis lazuli tile and the ceiling, 150 ft high and bent in the shape of a diamond, softly billowed various degrees of light below its majesty.

Upon reaching the top stair to his main level, Crown Prince Ludwig Von Koopa casually glanced at the many achievements he had procured over the years without much thought. He was too engrossed in his current plans, and too worried about his future. Things had taken their turn far earlier than he had expected. He was not sure if he had miscalculated Bowser's temper, or if something was happening between him and Junior. But it did not matter. 

He turned toward the bar to his left, where he found one of his skimpy waitresses smiling at him. "Will it be the usual today, sir?" 

"Please." he said, "As well as a chalice of Borgonne. Aged 50 years, and please take into account that it must be from a cask of Delway from that time. I do not know if it's the construction of the cask itself or if it's environmental conditioning, but the flavor that cask presents is very warm and difficult to shake off."

"Of course." She bowed and retreated into his kitchen. Rubbing his eyes, Ludwig sat himself on one of the many white sofa's that faced the far wall: a solid window itself, presenting a marvelous view of the universe. Ignoring it, Ludwig pressed a few buttons upon a large cylindrical device upon the floor above him. After a moment, a large hologram of the Mushroom World was brought into full view, complete with roads, cities rivers and mountains. Pressing another button showed every natural disaster that was currently occurring. There were at least 10 across the world at that moment, including significant earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and irregular weather phenomenon. 

Ludwig leaned back in his sofa, unabated. While the disasters have stepped up a notch, they did little to interfere with his current plans. His secret project also went unhindered so far. Being walled up in an old mountainous region, he knew he was relatively safe until the last days. But his thoughts were interrupted by a call on his PDA. Grumbling on the fact that he forgot to turn it to silent mode, he pulled it out and saw it was a call from Luigi.

"Well, this is quite unexpected," said Ludwig, "That is unless you plan on coercing me into your poker mastermind once again."

"I can say that the vote against you was quite unexpected, too."

"Hm?"

"There was a special council meeting soon after Roy's initiation ceremony. Initially, it was to decide who the next Second-in-Command of the Koopa Empire would be. But neither you nor the other Koopalings were present. Did you get an invite from Bowser?"

"I did not." Ludwig had a bad feeling about this, despite the fact that he knew where it was going.

"That's not good. At first, I figured since it was some high level Koopa business, that only you and Bowser may be present. But it was only Bowser, Kamek and a select group of the council that were there and it was not many of us, 10, 15 at most. It was decided that you were unfit to retake your former position. Instead, the position was given over to Bowser Junior."

Ludwig frowned. "I'm not surprised. But tell me, was there only a singular vote during the process and did this vote come from a highly selfish and arrogant individual?"

"Yes, there was only one vote and it came from Bowser, how did you know?"

"Trust me, I am exceedingly superfluous at Koopa politics."

"I see. Well, unfortunately, that wasn't the bad news."

"Oh?"

"After the vote, how can I put this..." There was silence for a moment. "There's no real easy way of saying it. Bowser called into question your status of Crown Heir of the Empire."

"What?"

"He wanted to give the title to Junior, and so had a vote on that as well. It was unanimous, or so he says. But the whole thing was very rigged and unprofessional. It didn't matter what we said, it was like talking to a wall. And there were no elected officials there either, it was just the 10 of us or so.  Anyway, Junior is apparently Crown Heir of the Empire now, starting immediately."

Ludwig was silent for a moment. Two waitresses appeared and brought out a table, and placed upon it a glass of whiskey, a golden chalice filled with a red wine as well as a plate of penne pasta mixed in a white sauce. Without looking at them, he nonchalantly waved his hand and the two quickly bowed and proceeded out of the room. There was silence as he downed more than half of his whiskey. 

"Hey, are you still there?" 

Ludwig put his glass on the table. "Quite."

"Well, I figured I should tell you. The whole thing seemed to be pretty unfair, after all. Then again, I don't know much about inner Koopa politics, despite being pulled into all of this."

"I will be honest with you, Luigi." said Ludwig. "The entire stunt was most definitely an illegal action."

"Illegal action?"

"Certain members of the senate as well as the higher members of the Magikoopa council must be present at such meetings, especially when deciding upon such a large position. Other members must be present as well, such as members of the family trust, the exchequer, 3 of the highest military generals, amongst others. To say that this is an usurp of power would be an understatement."

"Huh. Well, you don't sound too angry about it."

"Angry?" Ludwig entertained the thought. "I've been angry at the possibility of this occurring ever since the manifestation of Junior. The anger flows back into time for many years, but I will tell you this: that this situation was not a surprise to my person, in fact, I entirely expected this sort of event to transpire. It was only a matter of time. Everything is happening, more or less, in the manner I predicted. Reality will become an interesting place very soon, but I'm sure you're wise enough not to tell Bowser that upon seeing his ruthless corruption in play."

"Of course. Oh yes, there was something else I wanted to tell you."

"What, that there is now an assassination plot against me? That would be most entertaining."

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise. But she's headed to your room now. Crap, I got to go, Daisy is nagging me."

"She?" But Luigi had already hung up. Ludwig was not sure just what Luigi had meant at first. He drank the rest of his glass and thought who it could be. It wasn't long before he remembered. "Wait...no, that's wishful thinking." He was forced to break it off due to circumstances beyond his control. But he had always hoped that--

The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts. Ludwig was about to ask one of his waitresses to answer the door until he heard the door slam far behind him. There was only one person he could think of that would enter someone's room unannounced in that fashion. Ludwig got up from his seat and looked at the hallway behind him. Sure enough, up the steps walked Kylie Koopa, with her trademark green hat and a big smile on her face.

"This," Ludwig stammered. "This is a complete surprise!"

"Aww, you never expected to see me again?" said Kylie. "You know, I can't just live with 'that's a secret you can never know.' Because that's not the way it works." She walked up to him and gave him a peck on the lips before giving him a hug. "I missed you so much."

"I'm surprised you went along with my Morton idea."

"Oh, and I'm going to so grill you for that, but not right now." 

"Good, as I am experiencing as they term it, 'one hell of a day.'" 

"I know. I overheard most of that council meeting."

"Did you?" He smirked. 

"Yeah. All I have to say that your dad is an asshole."

"That goes without saying." Ludwig broke the hug and sat back down in his former spot, with Kylie sitting next to him.

"To be anywhere within the higher echelons of the Koopa Empire, one must be some degree of an asshole."

"But your dad is a menace. He had no right to just strip you and place everything on his little clone of his."

"He has his right as a cruel and dominating despot. But that doesn't matter."

"Oh, is this part of your plan, too?"

"The one I briefly touched upon before I left, yes."

Ludwig made a motion with his arm and a waitress was back out next to him again. "Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"I see you've been having some fun while I was gone." said a suspicious Kylie, eying the waitresses skimpy maid uniform.

"One can make as many assumptions as they wish," said a smiling Ludwig, "But the fact of the matter is that there's simply no physical evidence."

"What are you talking about? You see that?" Kylie pointed at the Koopa's forehead. "She's sweating! There's only one reason for that."

"You're clearly making her nervous, Kylie." said Ludwig. "And I strongly doubt that her job description had the word 'fuck toy' anywhere within the inscription."

"Um..." The waitress looked extremely nervous.

"Of course it doesn't! Those jobs don't need an explanation."

"It is also true that you're giving her ideas of doing something other than her job description dictates."

Kylie folded her arms. "Yeah, whatever."

"Not that I wouldn't mind that of course, but I digress."

"Oh, so you do fuck her on a consistent basis?"

"I...um...I'm here to serve you, master!" said the waitress, bowing low. Ludwig almost laughed. He enjoying pissing off Kylie once in a while.

"Yes, I would like, ahem, a glass of the DeBourgeis."

"Give me a Bourbon."

"Yes sir!" The waitress finally walked back into the kitchen.

"Seriously, how many maids have you screwed since I was gone?" asked Kylie.

"Seriously, do you expect me to do nothing but masturbate furiously until your return? That's too petty for me."

Kylie sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm just worried that you just have a relationship with one of them, that's all."

Ludwig snorted. "Of course not. They are simply useful for tasty meals and an occasional quickie at my discretion. I've not had a relationship since that...most unfortunate encounter."

Kylie frowned and leaned her head on his shoulder. "But ours never ended, did it?"

Ludwig looked at her and knew she was right. 

"You can't just go off saying I can't know something, and expect my love for you to end right there."

"It grieved me too. I had no choice in the matter."

"You could have just told me about all of this, I wouldn't have said a thing."

"And risk life imprisonment on the 8th dungeon level? Many other people needed me when I was building the Galaxy. I hated it, but it was a sacrifice I had to take."

"..."

"Besides, it worked out in the end for both of us. All of my siblings now know the truth and will be able to live in freedom instead of ignorance."

"Wait..." Kylie thought to herself. "You were the one that was sending those messages out?"

Ludwig smiled. "Sometimes I am impressed by my own brilliance. The message from Larry was genuine, but I did tell him to send such a thing. Roy's picture is his own, but I secretly sent him the satellite coordinates so he'd be able to see it for himself. You eventually saw my messages and figured things out on your own, just like I hoped you would. The rest has fallen into place."

Kylie smiled. "Nothing really changed then." And they kissed, not caring how much time they passed. Eventually they broke away, with Ludwig pressing a few buttons on his console. The globe was replaced with a model of what appeared to be some type of castle, yet it looked almost nothing like one. 

"What's this?" asked Kylie.

"My top secret project. Bowser has no knowledge about this, Kamek has no knowledge about this, not even my siblings know about this. You are the first one to know, so to speak."

"Your pole shift shelter?"

"That's but one purpose it shall provide." Ludwig said, grinning widely. "I must increase the production speed and it should be completed within a week."

"Cool." Kylie got up. "Can I use your shower? I'm getting tired."

"It's that way." Ludwig pointed to a doorway on the right side of the room and Kylie walked off toward it. He was getting tired himself, but he knew he had to modify Ludwig Castle plus take care of some other things before retiring for the evening. Another button brought up a cam, showing a Koopa wearing a hard hat. "Yes sir!" it responded.

"How long until main construction phase is complete?" asked Ludwig. 

"It will take about 2 weeks, maybe 3 due to those external temperature oscillators."

"I need the main phase to be completed within a week. Several unfortunate events came up and security is now top priority."

The Koopa nodded. "Understood. The main engines are done and most of the teleportation systems can be completed by that time."

"Good, just make sure that and life support systems are not to be cut from production times. Those are critical. That also includes the synthetic food generation systems."

"Roger that, sir!" 

The com fizzled out, leaving Ludwig pondering to himself for a few moments. But at length, he decided to prepare himself for sleep as well. Now that Kylie had found her way back to him, there was no need to take advantage of his maids any longer.

After writing a few emails to a moving company and a few other recipients, he decided to retire for the evening. Ludwig got up from his comfortable position on the sofa and walked to his bedroom. The usual extravagant flair was also present in this room, albeit with a more artistic touch with curvy pillars and sleek walls casting various shadows across the room. Spotlights in the ceiling cast soft light here and there, illuminating some of the incense smoke from the corner of the room. In the same corner was a small stream of drinkable water, continuously flowing on a cyclic path. 

Ludwig smelled a sweet steam coming from his bathroom. Thinking for a moment, he grabbed a glass and dipped it into his artificial stream. Drinking half of it, he placed it on the counter and quietly slipped out of his shell and boxers. Walking to the bathroom door, he silently opened it and saw the silhouette of Kylie washing herself behind the curtain. Grinning like a hunter eying his prey, he slowly approached and at the right moment, pushed his claw behind the curtain and gave her butt a good squeeze. 

"Eeeeek!" She flinched before quickly turning around. "Bastard!"

Ludwig chuckled and reached into a cabinet next to him, pulling out a jar of what appeared to be tiny stars with eyes.  "It has been a while since I've used any of these for my own...personal use."

"Use what?" She looked behind the curtain, but Ludwig was not there. 

"These." She turned around and found him behind her in the shower, holding up a jar of little star beings that made high squealing noises. Kylie was about to say something, but Ludwig cut her off. "And as this shower is my personal property, using it is a privilege, not a right."

Kylie crossed her arms. "I guess that's what I get. But those star...things, they remind me of what Mario was talking about after he got back from one of his adventures."

"These are Lumas," said Ludwig, "Faithful servants to the Galaxy system. Everything here was built by them. They recognize the difficulty we must go through and are more than willing to submit themselves."

"You know I can read between the lines. You just collected a huge amount and put them inside a jar! I don't think they'd appreciate that."

"While true, they are still more than willing to give us more powerful beings a helping hand when required." He opened the jar and out flew a couple of them, flying overhead.

"Whew, thank you for letting us out!" said a yellow Luma. "It was getting cramped in there! We definitely could use some more flying space."

"Don't worry, we'll get you a playpen or something." said Kylie.

"If that's the case, then it is going inside of your room." said Ludwig.

"The room that doesn't exist?"

"Until now. Initiate Plan K." said Ludwig, smirking.

"Yes sir!" said the Luma. "Time to TRANSFORM!" It then flew out a window above and transformed somewhere on the other side of Ludwig's massive apartment.

"Um, so you just made me a room here?"

"Quite."

"Without knowing what I really wanted in it, right?"

"Oh, I know exactly what you want."  He winked at the Luma, who promptly transformed into a launch star. "I would advise holding on."

"Are you Craaaaa----" screamed Kylie as the naked couple launched through the window and into space. They flew far from Ludwig's apartment and the many cargo ships were like little specks in the distance. After some time, they landed upon a small planetoid covered in white sand and pristine teal waters with a forest of palm trees. Colorful stars and galaxies danced overhead in many shades and hues. A small wind brushed by their faces as small waves broke across the beach. Kylie was stunned, forgetting her nakedness for a moment.

"This...this is--"

"Yes. I designed my dream paradise long ago and never imagined it could become a reality, until I met the Lumas. The Luma who made this was exceptionally intelligent for a creature of its kind. With the current environment, a personal retreat is almost a requirement. You're the first person to know the existence of this place." He walked to beach chair next to him, which was overshadowed by a shade and a table next to it. He grabbed a pina colada from the table cup holder, which immediately refilled itself with another. He took a sip and stared at the endless ocean along with Kylie, who seemed lost in thought. 

"Well, is this what you wanted?" asked Ludwig.

"Yes, but..." She turned to face Ludwig and smiled. "...I want a something that's a little more..."

He caressed her then with a smile on his face. "Like this?" And they kissed under the gleaming stars, escaping the doom that hung over them, if only just for a moment. And the best thing about living amongst the stars was that no matter where you are, no one can hear you scream. 

"Mmh..."


	12. The Survivalists Roundtable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lemmy enjoys dog pirate movies until it's time for a meeting with Luigi's survival group, where many people, including the Koopalings present their shelters for consideration. Roy tries his hand at Larry's favorite past time, but not after Ludwig calls him about a pressing matter.

A dog on his hind legs stepped up to the plank. Wearing a pirates hat and a leather strap across his belly, the chocolate lab looked more than a little ridiculous. He was suddenly poked from behind with a saber and the lab walked forward.

"Arr! You best be tellin' us where that treasure is!" barked another pirate dog. Behind him, the entire crew barked in approval. "Or else, yer missie will be joining ya in the drink!"

The lab looked over at his missie, a white lab with longer hair and a bow on her head. "Don't tell them!" she pleaded.

"Shut yer mouth!" With a paw, the evil pirate dog punched missie in the face and she fell on her side and simply lay there on the deck.

"Hahahahaha!" Lemmy rolled back and forth in amusement. Somehow, this was the most entertaining thing he could find: a stack of old black and white dog shows from the Chai black market. They were probably bootlegs since they never seemed to look good in any higher resolution, but Lemmy didn't really care. As impressive as the galaxy was, he knew it for what it was worth: a secret club for runaway escapists. Lemmy thought that the best thing to do was to enjoy himself as much as possible until the world came to an end. 

His phone rumbled. Snatching it, he saw that it was his own reminder to himself. "Guess it's time for the big surprise." he said, unsure of himself.

* * *

Lemmy approached the beckoning double doors to the meeting room. After halting for a moment, they opened inward and Lemmy saw a large room, filled with the chatter of many people and many races. In the center of the room was a very large circular table with a similar design to the one at the Golden Koopa which Lemmy ate at. This table was much larger and accommodated much more than a dozen people. From a glance, it seemed to be able to house at least 50 people.

Lemmy ripped his attention away from the table for a moment and looked at all the people around him. He recognized several people from the Mushroom Kingdom, including Toad and the Mario Brothers, who seemed to be in hot debate about something. He also saw some not-so-common people, including Price Peasley talking and laughing with the princesses, the Kong's aping away in a corner, Goombella chatting with what appeared to be Penny Crygor and many other people. Most seemed to be engaged in some type of conversation. 

Half frowning, Lemmy looked at the table again. Few people were seated there, but as his eyes scanned the seats, he saw his brother Iggy seated on the northwest end dabbling with something. Not far by him was Larry, who was standing next to his seat and talking with a young girl. If Lemmy remembered right, her name was Ashley.

As Lemmy approached them, Iggy seemed to become more irritated to the point that he rose from his seat and approached the duo. Lemmy wisely decided to stop for a moment. 

"I'm pretty sure you have the wrong Koopaling," said Iggy. "Because Larry doesn't remember ever talking with you before the Galaxy. But you know, it's funny because I remember something about you last night. Like I've talked with you before, but I don't remember when or where."

"I saw a rock golem being constructed by a Koopaling." said Ashley. "I don't remember the face, but it was surrounded by a purple aura."

Iggy suddenly snapped his finger. "You know, I betcha that's it! It could have been a memory loss spell." He paused for a few moments. "Stop by my room tonight. I think I'll be able to unravel this mystery now that I know what the problem is."

Ashley nodded and walked off. Larry breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad my part in this is over."

"Yeah." said Iggy. "It's all magic after this."

"Great...you know I'm not good at that stuff."

Lemmy shook his head. Whatever that was, he didn't want to know. He had heard about Ashley's prowess with death magic and that aspect of her creeped him out. He never really liked her. "Aye eye eye." He walked forward to his seat before Iggy finally noticed him. 

"Hey, did you just listen to that whole thing?" he asked, a little annoyed.

"No..." Lemmy said sarcastically. "I was just standing here minding my own business. Or, at least trying to." Lemmy grinned, but Iggy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I don't even like Ashley." he added.

Iggy shrugged. "I guess it's not that important." He sat back down and Larry sat to his right. Getting the drift, Lemmy moved to Iggy's left and found several pillows already on his seat to make up for his small size (despite some growth in the past few years, he was still half a body shorter than his siblings). He climbed on top of them and looked about him. It was a like the deluxe edition of the Golden Koopa, where a machine similar to the one in his room was set up next to him to bring him his food. And at first glancy, the menu on the touch screen seemed to be much larger as well. Despite the vanity, he couldn't help a growing a feeling of deja vu.

Lemmy sighed and looked at the crowds casually, slightly bored. He wondered what he should do to make up the time until the meeting began.

"You have a survival spot?" suddenly asked Iggy.

"Yeah." said Lemmy, leaning back in his seat.

"...In the arctic?" 

"Uh-huh!"

Iggy looked puzzled, but Lemmy laughed. "It's a surprise. You'll see!"

"I'll admit Lemmy, I never thought of that. Then again, who would live in..." he murmured to himself and fell silent. A moment later, Professor E.Gadd stepped up from his seat.

"Welcome everyone, ho-ho! Please seat yourselves so we can begin."

Slowly, the talking groups broke off and seated themselves around the massive table. Lemmy had a hard time recognizing some of them; clearly, they were from the outer reaches of the world where the Koopa Kingdom had no knowledge in. To Lemmy's surprise however, his older brother Ludwig was not seen anywhere. While Bowser was also absent, he sort of expected that as Bowser hated working for others. He sat up as best as he could and looked to the head of the table where E. Gadd was, between the Mario Brothers.

Once everyone was seated and the talking had died to a low murmur, E. Gadd glanced around the table before continuing. "Hoho! As I said, welcome! This is the first Galactic Survival conference and I'm glad you could all make it. As you have all heard and seen with your own eyes, the Destroyer of legend has returned and the next pole shift is upon us. Civilization, entire cultures and races are threatened with extinction, yet the people in this room have decided to fight for their survival. By committing to such acts of bravery---"

"We know Gadd." butted in Mario. 

"Ah of course, hoho!" laughed a nervous Gadd. "Then I will get down to the meat and bones of it. After much extensive research, I have determined the severity of the shift and what lands will be affected and how. But before I present that, it would be good to go around the table and talk a little bit about your self and what you're doing to help. We'll start with Mario and work our way around clockwise."

And that's how the first hour went. Mario got up and explained his shelter underneath the Mushroom Kingdom castle which could hold several hundred if need be. Luigi explained his shelter in Sarasaland with Daisy and talked about how hard it was for him to choose between his brother and his love.

"Sappy." Larry muttered to himself.

"We're going to be in the same shoes." said Lemmy.

"That's inevitable at this point." commented Iggy.

Peasley talked about his plan, Goombella talked about hers and the conversations slowly circled around the table. Since Lemmy and his siblings were seated on the right side of the table, they'd be one of the last ones to show off their projects. Whether it was deliberate or not Lemmy didn't know, but the Koopa's were not well liked by many races around the world. 

Lemmy ordered a fruit smoothie out of boredom as he listened to Mona's plan for Diamond City. Apparently, Wario had abandoned the whole project because there wasn't much money involved. Lemmy was not very surprised. She talked about trying to throw something new together.

"And that's it! Your turn," she said, with a motion towards Larry before sitting down.  

Larry got up and surveyed the room. Everyone was silent and looking at him intensively, and many looked cautious. He knew this was big news, originally being Ludwig's shelter of choice before he changed his mind. Its importance made him remember to be careful of what he said. 

"Hello," he said, "I'm Larry Koopa and I suck."

Some laughter was heard around the table. "We already knew that." came a voice. "You're one of the sons of Bowser. One of the annoying ones."

"Yes, I am annoying." said Larry. "Always getting in your way. And once again, I have to get in your way. Granted, it was not my original choice."

After pushing a button, the center of the table glowed and a white spherical hologram appeared in mid air. The light turned into dark and the smooth, claw-like pinnacles of Genlic appeared amidst a stormy backdrop. The vision paned out and Genlic was showed in its entirety, a menacing black fortress atop a stony hill, surrounded by an inhospitable landscape that carried the rolling echos of constant thunder. 

"This is the Eternal Fortress Genlic. Some of you may have heard of it, but it's one of the most important sites in our ancient history. This was originally the site of choice for my older brother Ludwig, but some of you may remember him giving it to me a couple of weeks ago. He has since started his own project and I do not know much about it. 

In any case, there are written records of Genlic surviving multiple pole shifts in the past with little to no structural damage. The only major damage was from 3 or 4 shifts ago when one of the towers was destroyed by a powerful magic weapon that since has not been duplicated. To be honest, I have no idea what this thing is made out of. It resembles some sort of black glass, sort of like obsidian but hard as a stone. I remember Iggy taking a test of it a long while back and he has no clue what it is."

"I remember that." chimed in Iggy. "That's still one the few mysteries I have yet to unravel. But if you look close, you can see a rainbow of colors flowing within the rock itself so I think it may be magic based."

"That would explain a lot." said Larry. "Considering that nothing modern can even nick the thing. But enough about its shell. Let's take a look at its insides."

The picture traveled from the lightning spectacular to a level-based diagram, showing the layers within and beneath the fortress. 

"Here, I first want to point out the extensive irrigation and agricultural system that I've set up here. For those who actually know me better than being the front man of an invasion, gardening is pretty much the love of my life. So when this came up, I went to work straightaway on it. As you can see, the agricultural section takes up 3 entire levels beneath the fortress. Water is drawn up from the underground aquifer system from the deeper levels to irrigate the crops."

"Wait, crops?" asked Mona.

"Yes, crops. Right now, I have corn growing at half stock, as well as a fresh supply of tomatoes that came in. Of course the usual mushrooms are stored here, though I am not a fan of them. I just planted a whole row of 1-ups a few days ago. If anything, those need to be saved especially."

"Dude, this place sounds like a city." said Kooper. "You do suck. How did you get this again?"

"Ludwig gave it to me."

"Ah, inheritance."  
"Yeah," Larry continued, "All in all, combined with the total food stock and possible living quarters, I'd say roughly...15,000 people can live here comfortably."

Whistles went around the room with that figure, though some remained skeptical and scratched their chins in thought. 

"I hate to break your terrific speech, but we must continue." said E. Gadd. "You have already taken up more than your allotted time."

Larry huffed. "Alright." He turned to Iggy, who was studying the diagram in the center before it disappeared from view. 

"Wow," Iggy began, "I am impressed. You're way ahead of me."

"I think Genlic is just impressive as it is." said Larry.

"That's true. I almost forgot how awesome it was. I've been too focused on my project. It's of a vastly different scope than yours, as you will see in a second." Iggy than got up from his seat. 

"I'll admit, this started as a archeology project years ago, when the world ending wasn't such a huge deal. Back then, I lost money for the project by the king's lack of interest and it was shelved. But with this whole free money system going on now, which is pretty nice by the way, I finally restarted the project again and realized how awesome it would be as a pole shift shelter. Plus, the complex is really cool."

The hologram shifted again, this time to a bright blue sky that eventually paned downwards to a massive dig site in the middle of the desert. Surrounded by excavation equipment, the site featured a number of temples adorned with hieroglyphics situated around a central complex. But the building that stood out most was the Pyramid of Marthos which was almost entirely covered in smooth white limestone, except for the capstone which was made entirely of quartz crystal.

"Now THAT is one sweet hangout, baby!" roared Funky Kong. "But I'd throw out that flimsy rock and put a gigantic banana up there instead!" All the kongs aped loudly in response to his sentiment. Many others, including Mario simply face palmed.

"Mama Mia." he muttered. "Keep your bananas to yourself."

"I keep mine to myself." replied Iggy. "And unless you join my club, you wont get a taste of my harvest."

Funky laughed hard until a hairy fist went intimate with his face, knocking him unconscious.

"Thank you DK." said Iggy. "Though that made me hungry." He bit off a slice of Piranha Plant pizza. "Now as you can see here, this complex is gigantic and we haven't fully excavated everything yet...we being myself and miss Crygor over there. She had originally picked the temple of Inauro until I found it was a part of this site that I uncovered."

"That's correct." said Penny, interrupting him. "I chose it because the Inauro site is situated on top of the Koopahari aquifer. Water will be plentiful there and I've already started to grow food in the lower levels."

"But it's still in the desert," said Luigi, "And that's a harsh place to live. Water may be plentiful, but if you run out of food what will you do?"

"I built a hydroponics laboratory in the lower levels." said Penny. "I wanted to build a ecosystem that can sustain itself and I have nearly gotten to that point. As long as the water lines are okay and the area is secure, it can easily survive after the shift."

"But why the desert?" asked Luigi. 

"I found something interesting when I was calculating the worldwide effects of the shift itself." said Iggy. "When the shift occurs--"

"Sorry Iggy, but I must ask you do not speak of it at this time." interrupted E. Gadd. "I will talk about it when we are finished introducing our selves. But I have to add that I'm pleased I'm not the only one to discover this, hoho!"

"Heh. Sorry Luigi, but your answer is in another presentation."

"I was just thinking that my meatballs are in another restaurant." said Mario, poking at them. "But it sounds like E. Gadd has something up his sleeve."

"Hoho! Indeed I do, but we still have one more person to introduce." Iggy sat down, somewhat content by his performance despite that his site wasn't really finished yet. The room then turned to Lemmy Koopa, sitting on a stack of pillows with his lazy eyes staring at something far away. 

"This is pretty interesting." he began. "You have everyone together in one room at once, all nations in one room. When was the last time this happened?"

He was met with silence and blank stares. He then shrugged and smiled. "Then all those squabbles meant nothing. I'm just glad to see that. My father left a bad mark of karma during his rule and I must balance out what he's done." He leaned forward and pressed several buttons. The hologram once again shifted and a cloudy sky appeared,  and the vision turned until a great sea of snow and ice was seen amidst a blinding blizzard. 

"This is my home." he said. "It's pretty chilly. Oh, and before you even ask, I really don't expect many people wanting to join me here."

"Then why show this off?" asked Toad.

"Because this is for the cool dudes. There's not a lot of cool dudes. And I have a gut feeling about this place..." The picture morphed into a monolith half buried in the snow. "That's it. It has its own furnace that still works. There's also a calendar that--"

"This is worse than Iggy's." muttered Don Pianta. "Why would I freeze myself when I can be enjoying some fine time in the Yoshi Isles?"

"And food is impossible there." said Goombella. "You'd have to go with Penny's strategy to get anything out of it, except its far more difficult for you because of the cold."

E. Gadd scratched his chin. "Out of curiosity, what is the real reason you chose this place?"

"I had a weird dream awhile ago. I saw the apocalypse and all that, the skies were red and the ice beneath me cracked in all directions. And I literally slid down the world, if that makes any sense. I hit the ground and woke up...but my gut says this is not quite a lie."

"Interesting...very interesting. I will still put you on the list of survival shelters."

"Why bother? It's obvious no one is interested." said Pinata.

"I'm sorry, but I am interested. And for that question, I shall now begin my presentation." E. Gadd coughed to himself. "After I'm done here, you may want to rethink your plans, hoho!" The old doctor got up and pushed a button on his console. The hologram shape shifted into the spitting image of the world. All the oceans, mountains and valleys were visible, from the desolate and dark Koopa Kingdom in the north to the green fields of the Mushroom Kingdom in the center of the world. The Koopahari Desert was clearly seen in the northwest, an offshoot of the main Koopa continent. Across the ocean  between the desert and the Mushroom continent was Kong Island, a tiny spec from space but labeled on the hologram like all else. Not far from this was the Beanbean Kingdom. South of the Mushroom Kingdom were the Yoshi Isles, numerous and uncountable. To the east of the Mushroom continent across another ocean were various lands: in the center was the bustling Diamond City and to it's extreme north, on the edge of the continent not far from the Koopa Kingdom lay Genlic in a cloud of smoke and purple fire. To the extreme northeast, almost on the other side of the globe lay Sarasaland and its tributaries. There were many other lands there that Lemmy had never heard of, but the old doctor was on his mind at that moment. For some reason, he was interested in his site.

"Hoho, the world as we know it today. Now I'm sure many of you know about the disasters that the pole shift will cause. Floods, earthquakes, crazy weather, tornados, that cup of tea. What you may not have been told is what exactly the Great Destroyer will be doing as it passes our planet and exits the planetary system. 

"Due to the forces of magnetic attraction, our planet will become interlocked with the Destroyer. During this time it will appear in the sky and by this point the masses will be panicking, so you should have your shelters ready to go before this time arrives. As the Destroyer tries to pass our planet, the magnetic bond will cause great disasters as the continental plates crush and grind against each other, trying to escape the bond the Destroyer has over them. And then, SNAP!"

All of the attendees that had fallen asleep from the scientific babble suddenly awoke at that. E. Gadd pressed a red button on his console, and at that moment the globe suddenly jerked and all the continents moved wildly about. Some slammed into each other, instantly creating new mountain chains, but all experienced  gigantic tidal waves washing ashore the lands as the ocean tried to keep up with the sudden movement. And once the continents stopped moving, a time lapse followed where jungles became temperate forests and vice versa, previously ice covered lands suddenly became covered with life again and new lands over the poles became covered with immense glaciers. Nearly all the civilizations that were on the previous globe were no longer visible. The whole world literally looked upside down.

Many around the table gaped in awe and others were hurriedly talking with others, clearly not expecting something so unexpected. Iggy did not look surprised at all, and instead looked around the table in curiosity. Larry and Lemmy however had no knowledge of this and looked rather surprised. Lemmy especially wondered if this was the reason why E. Gadd was interested in him.

"Hoho! Not what you expected, right? As you think, this may slightly alter your plans. But before I answer any questions, I would like to explain in general how each continent and kingdom will do after the shift occurs. 

"When the shift occurs, the Destroyer breaks hold of his magnetic attraction to our planet by breaking the crust from our mantle. This swings the continents around...roughly 90 degrees to their former position. At least this makes the new world map rather easy to make, hoho! As a side note, I will be giving each of you a copy of this map before you leave. But after the shift occurs, the Destroyer leaves our system for good and the survivors can help rebuild the world. But now, the kingdoms. How well will they do?

"The Mushroom Kingdom is a bit of a mixed bag. As we all know, it is a rather horizontal land with not  much in the north and an ocean to the south. Here, the west and the east becomes northern temperate, so forests will be likely while the center of the Kingdom, where your castle resides Peach is likely to be a lush jungle."

"Well, that's not so bad." said Mario.

"You will have to get used to a very humid climate with no air conditioning and unusable roads."

"Ok, that's a problem."

"Remember Mario, the tidal waves that occur during the shift will sweep away any civilization along the coastlines. Technology will not be useable for quite a while. What you bring with you is all you will have left, depending on any damage that the shelter may get. 

"But moving on, you can see that the Yoshi Isles will no longer be in such a tropical climate. Cooler, but not nearly as hot. They will be very close to the former northern edge of the eastern continent, or the Fortress Genlic."

Larry and Yoshi looked at each other with curious glances.

"Needless to say that Genlic will be a little warmer than it is now. But it is hard to imagine what the weather would be like for that region. Diamond City will actually see little change in climate. But, it is susceptible to tidal waves, being near an ocean port on its western side.

"The Koopa Kingdom will suffer the most catastrophes because of its position. Most of that civilization lies on the southern coast, while the rest of the continent is either fiery mountain chains or frozen in the north. Since Koopa City lies on the southeast coast, the floods will not be as bad but the area will be very cold, nearly arctic after the shift. It will be uninhabitable. The Koopahari will become even hotter, however the weather patterns will change drastically and will bring a lot of rainfall and plant growth. As for the arctic, it will rotate to a much warmer climate, more temperate."

Everyone in the room looked very quiet and thoughtful by the time E. Gadd finished speaking. "Well, that's what I wanted to cover." he said. "I'm sure many of you will readjust your plans after seeing this. Just remember that things will gradually be getting worse, so supplies for your shelter may not always be available. It's better to act early before commerce and industry begins to shut down. Well, that's all I wanted to cover, so again I thank you for attending and will let everyone know when the next meeting will be."

Talking recommenced and many stood up from their chairs to stretch. Larry let out a long yawn. "Wow." he exclaimed. "I'm going to live next to the Yoshi's. That's going to suck."

"Maybe." said Iggy. "Or they might help you out. They certainly liked me."

"They hated Bowser, so I was thinking it'd rub off on me, seeing I'm one of his sons and all that."

Iggy shrugged. "They really didn't mind me when I went to eat at one of their restaurants, not even when I faked their language. I wouldn't worry about it. By the way Lemmy," he looked over to him, "That was a strange choice, but after the tectonic movements it works out in the end."

"It's because of what's inside it." said Lemmy.

"Oh? Something interesting?"

"Well, for you it would be. It'd kinda bore everyone else."

"Ancient stuff?"

"Yeah. Weird ancient stuff. I can't read any of it." said Lemmy.

"If I have the time, I'll take a look at it. It's strange that there's something built so far up there...but after seeing that globe spin, it was probably built sometime in the distant past when the area was warmer." Iggy got up. "Well, I got stuff to do. See you." 

"Me too." Lemmy hopped down from his pillow tower. "I need to finish my movies!" He thought to himself, "At least there wasn't an earthquake this time!"

"Later guys." Larry said, getting up from his seat. The trio split directions, Lemmy immediately exited the room, too excited to finish his dog pirate movie. Larry turned to leave, but was stopped short by a hand on his arm. It was Mona. 

"Yo," she said, looking around. "I need to talk to you."

"Yeah?"

"Wario's been a greedy little shit lately and hasn't been cooperating. I told him the plans, that we gotta work together to build this thing. But he wants to run the whole show and squeeze a profit. He will do anything to make a coin and that doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that he doesn't share any of it."

Larry read between the lines. "Things aren't working out with him?"

Mona frowned. "I figured he would come around when push came to shove, but that ain't happening Larry. He'll stick with his ways until the end."

"Then you gotta decide which is more important. Him, or the people you want to save."

"I already decided. But I can't stay with him anymore, so I have no idea where to go. You know I made that place with him. People can't be run like slaves, that's not how it works. I have to bring them somewhere else."

Larry sighed. "So you want the folk of Diamond City to stay at Genlic...How many?"

"I only have about 2,200 that want to go, the rest want to stay with Wario. Can you believe it?"

"I believe it. People can be selfish and greedy to the end. Ignore them and go your own way, Mona."

She smiled. "So when can I start?"

"Anytime, just give me a few hours notice before you set out."

"Okay. Thank you babe." She hugged him and Larry cautiously returned the favor. After letting go, she smiled at him and walked off towards the exit. Larry was a little surprised how good he got along with her, considering he only knew her for a couple of weeks from poker. He walked through the double doors of the room, passing Iggy and Penny on the way out.

"So the jet stream will change because of the Adonai mountains that will move to the west--"

"Yeah, and it'll bring in much needed moisture." said Iggy. "So planting there will be much better after the shift."

"So if the garden fails...I can just store some seeds just in case that happens." Penny typed something in her PDA.

"A seed vault is a pretty good idea." said Iggy. "It's too bad cattle is not made for that region. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind having some burgers. Actually, I wouldn't mind having some right now."

"Hey, do you mind if I tag along?" asked Penny.

"Nah, knock yourself out."

She smiled.

* * *

People had their wily ways in doing their things. Bowser's lack of a heart gave him the seat of evil, and his bastard little self seems to be of similar mood to him. But so did Roy. Being forced from his position like that has consequences, moving from a top cheese head official of his majesty's idiotic empire to a traceless hacker able to see everything he ever wanted. In a way, he felt like Larry at that moment. Then again, he did get some help from him earlier, didn't he?

The rustling of a chain was heard. Something was moving across the floor to him but Roy anticipated his indolence. Without even looking, Roy backhanded his snout and the creature fell backwards onto the floor. 

"Stay put, ya fucktard." Roy said. "I told ya, no movin'. Maybe you really arn't hungry after all."

Birdo looked down in sadness, regretting doing that to his master. Curiosity got the better of...it.

"I gotta do this shit first." Roy muttered to himself. "Then yer gonna get 'colonized' be yers truly. Heh."

Birdo whimpered in response as Roy cracked the firewall to the Koopa Troop's mainframe. He was looking for something, something about Bowser's hideaway. If his brothers had one, then surely Bowser had one somewhere. He searched through the directories until he found an interesting document entitled "PS-CIVILIAN_MUTINY" which showed a layout of the castle in the event the citizens learned to truth to the shift and decided to revolt. Various evacuation routes and defensive points were listed, but far below the castle was another diagram, connected by a series of long, twisty tunnels.

"The Divine Cathedral?" What the hell was that? But his PDA rang, interrupting his thoughts. Uncanny timing.

"Yeah?"

"Greetings."

"Well, if it isn't da Big Wig." said Roy. "You fell off of da face of da planet after Bowser pounded ya in. You paid a pretty big price for lettin us know."

"I simply cannot afford his debauchery at the moment." responded Ludwig. "His words are as ineffectual as his undying obsession for the damsel of the Mushroom Kingdom. I have greater plans I must adhere to."

"She's a doll, but no keeper. There's better ways of taking that trash of a kingdom."

"Not there is any more appositeness for usurping that fragile and soft despotism, but I called your person to inquire if you are indeed, supportive of a more...fair and modest rule."

Roy was silent. He knew what that really meant. 

"Indubitably, you must understand that his words are treasonous to the Koopa Code of Law set down by our forefathers all those illimitable years prior. No king may displace the first born of his person for any reason save for the proof of the incompetency of his abilities or the threat and validated proof of an impending coup d'etat."

"Then he thought ya were...that first one." Roy said, forgetting the word. 

"Yes, incompetent. However, both cases must be adjudicated before the Council of Magikoopa's, the  protectors of the royal lineage, before a final conclusion is set forth. As his judgment was not within their presence, it is considered erroneous and by the Code, if he puts such bunkum into practice, he is considered removable by yours truly."

"So...what ya just said...you can just coup him right now?"

"I could, but that's precisely what he's expecting. He wishes to obliterate me in one foolish offensive. That will not occur, and instead I will wait for the shift to...progress further. In the meantime, I request that you acquire his shelter and use the resources within for your own plans."

Roy decided to play dumb. "And where would dis be?"

"The Divine Cathedral, located beneath the dungeons of the castle. Surely you have heard of it?"

"Yea, a while ago. But here's da thing, why do you want me to have all his goods?" It was an honest question.

Ludwig drank something on the other end. "The more of us that survive the upcoming apocalypse, the greater the chance our lineage will remain intact. There is also the fact that I have no use of that shelter or it's goods. I am quite self-sufficient and can rely on myself."

Roy thought about it. It would severely weaken Bowser, seeing how much he's stocked up there if the document was correct. However, it would have to be done at the right time and that clearly wasn't now. 

"Alright, but dis has to be done right. And I'd rather see you up on da seat than Junior. I hate dat rodent."

"Excellent to hear of your support. I shall inform you when the next stage is about to occur." There was a voice on the other end. "I must go, Kylie requires me for something."

"Kylie?"

"Yes, your future queen. Farewell." And with that he hung up. So Kylie was back with Ludwig now? But then Roy suddenly remembered Morton's old "girlfriend." 

"Woah woah, he set dat up?" Roy said aloud. He had no idea why, but given Luddy's complicated strategies, he really didn't want to know. He was more used to less complicated things, like...

He got up from his seat and looked at Birdo, a poor pink thing laying on the floor. "Don't matter. Time to teach ya what happens when ya disobey orders in da Koopa Troop: anal colonization!" Birdo could only whimper at Roy's massive bulge in his pants.


	13. Signs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iggy and Penny plan to design the logistics between their combined shelters until they find an unwelcome visitor in Iggy's apartment. Wendy goes to complain about Junior demolishing one of her chain stores until a meteor storm slams Koopa City proper, an adjustment that later affects the Galaxy. Wario tries yet again to convince its mentally unstable brother to return to normal...

As the elevator moved upwards at blinding speeds amidst a sea of lights, Iggy Koopa pondered the significance of his stay at the Galaxy. His adventure in discovering what Bowser and Ludwig were hiding from the world not only led to him and his siblings' forced enrollment into the Galaxy, but he also learned the ultimate truth behind the disasters occurring in the world: The Great Destroyer of old has returned and he was living in the times of the apocalypse. The fact that his days were ultimately numbered depressed him a bit, and yet brought him a sense of relief; finally, he was going to be able to start out on his own and no longer would be confined to the rules of his father's regime. Yet still, he felt constricted. The Galaxy did not allow him the ability to share with others what lies just beyond the daily drudgery that most commoners were forced to work through. And even then...

"Would they even remain sane?" he muttered to himself.

"Who would?" asked Penny, looking up at him.

Iggy almost forgot she was even next to him. "The people on the ground."

She looked away. "Probably not."

"Yeah." He thought for a moment. "We're going to have to do this discreetly." The elevator halted for a moment before continuing on a horizontal course in front of them.

"I don't know," said Penny, "It seemed like few people were interested, besides the Kongs."

"The mischief makers never speak up until they do their deed." replied Iggy. "I didn't show the precise location, but some people will go out of their way to survive."

"Yeah, look at us."

Iggy laughed. "Yeah, but we have a good reason. These other guys might not."

"Who the hell would want to go all the way out there to steal anything?" asked Penny. "Their chances of survival are so small, being miles away from any town."

"I can think of Professor Kolorado offhand."

"Oh god. I take that back..."

"Yeah, that guy's a lunatic." The elevator slowed to a halt and the door's opened. As the trio stepped out, Iggy suddenly felt his wand buzz and stopped suddenly. His vision gave him a black figure behind the doors, floating in mid air.

"Something wrong?" asked Penny. Iggy had frozen still for a moment, but after some time he relaxed.

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay outside for a few." said Iggy. "She thinks I was the aggressor and now she wants a dual. I have to knock some sense into her." He walked up to the door, said a few words and it opened. As he walked inside, Penny caught a glimpse of that black figure, floating in mid air with a black and red dress with long black hair tied in two ponytails.

"Ashley?" was the only thing she could say before the doors closed on her.

* * *

Iggy's frequent living space had morphed into a pitch black battlement, with only the light of their beings illuminating the surrounding vicinity: a pocket dimension. Ashley was drawn up, her red eyes staring down at Iggy mercilessly as if playing the part of God. But Iggy seemed amused. With a smirk on his face and a knowing expression, it was as if he did not take it too seriously.

"So, you were the one that killed Red." she exclaimed.

"Why?" asked Iggy.

"Why?" To Ashley, the question seemed preposterous.

"Yeah, why did I kill Red?" asked Iggy. This made Ashley furious, and she extended her hand and unleashed a wave of death magic right at Iggy. He instantly choked and fell to his knees; it was an Instant Death spell. Iggy quickly chanted a Regeneration spell and regained his senses. With her spell counterbalanced, Iggy tried to grumble another spell as another wave of Instant Death swept over him. Stuttering under the pressure, he finally finished and could only smile to himself. He had won.

Ashley tried to mutter another dark spell, Mind Entrapment, before giant vines broke through the ground and swept her through the air. They took hold of her every limb and with his hand, Iggy successfully moved Ashley's hand away from him. Materializing a wall in behind her, he then threw her backwards as more vines poured forth from behind, effectively trapping her amidst a sea of green.

In desperation, Ashley decided to try to mutter a short yet effective spell to break her free, but Iggy saw it coming and simply had one of the tentacles take hold in her mouth.

"Well, looks like I win." Iggy declared. "And to answer your question, I did not kill Red. Why would I?"

Ashley muffled out something in response, the tentacle too far down her throat to respond. The others seemed to have their way with her as they found their way insides her clothes and started to tear them apart.

"Looks like they have minds of their own." Iggy commented. Ashley moaned as her perpetrators reached her extremities. He wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed seeing a master of death magic getting fondled by his plants, which were mere extensions of his self at any rate. But unfortunately, a bell was suddenly heard throughout the dimension. He knew what that was and sighed.

"I was having fun too." he groaned to himself. With a wave of his glowing hand, the plants and the pocket dimension all simultaneously disappeared and Ashley dropped to the floor of Iggy's foyer, her clothes in tatters. "I guess that's what you get for messing with the Grand Master of Nature."

Ashley said nothing and by the time she was back on her feet, Iggy had opened the door with a shocked Penny on the other end. The two girls stared at each other for a long while.

"...Ashley?" was the only thing Penny could mutter at the spectacle.

Ashley eventually gathered herself together. "Think nothing of it, Penny..."

"It was a dual." said Iggy. "And she lost. Speaking of which, I need to show you the real killer of Red."

"You can do that?" asked Ashley.

"Uh-huh." With waves of his wand and some chanting, he cast Memory Restore on both of themselves, then cast Time Dilation which created a time portal between them. Within, the rock golem was seen being constructed by a Koopaling that could not be made out at first. Another Koopaling then manifested into existence, clearly Iggy. The two talked for a few.

"Okay, that's Morton I'm talking to." said Iggy. "I remember now. He was going to show me some tricks in Earth magic. He constructed this sentient rock golem that was pretty cool."

Another Koopaling walked by, this time Larry Koopa. He smiled for a bit and waved at the two before walking off in the other direction.

"I remember Larry in my dream." said Ashley, "He was the first Koopaling I saw. There were others, but it got hazy."

Sure enough, after Larry passed the scene the other Koopalings noticed Ashley on the other side of the summoning circle. Iggy and Ashley waved to each other as Morton finalized his chants. Rock materialized out of thin air; it formed vague impressions of limbs and what appeared to be a head. The body outline was very sharp and rough. It looked at it's creator below him.

From behind Ashley came Red, the little demon that was now a foot higher and still up to its old mischief. Whether by curiosity or some vague impulse, he jumped up into the air and merged himself with the rock golem.

"Red wasn't behaving himself." Ashley said, shaking her head. The golem flashed a pair of small red eyes and it began to give off a strange purplish-gray aura. Under the intentions of Red, the golem thrust its arm into the sky and the cloudy vale soon parted to make way for an interesting sight.

"Woah woah woah..." Iggy studied the whole thing for a moment. "That's the Galaxy."

"He was trying to tell me something?" Ashley said to herself as the golem brought the object closer to view, but as he did so a strange purple energy was suddenly cast over the area. The golem immediately shattered into a million pieces and a little red spirit was seen floating away. But the others were frozen still, unable to move as the vision blurred to nothingness. Iggy promptly closed the portal.

"There's two people I know that could do that kind of purple spell: Bowser and Kammy," said Iggy, "And one of them must have done it because Red showed us the Galaxy. So I saw it before I even knew about it..." he muttered to himself.

"So Red is disembodied...I will need to summon his spirit."

"What...the hell...?"

Both turned and saw Penny with a shocked look; she had clearly never experienced the power and potency of magic, ever. And judging by the tone of her voice, she seemed awfully confused.

Ashley stepped forward. "This is my world Penny..." she began, but Penny ran into her arms scared stiff. "...it's not safe." finished Ashley.

"Why do you have to risk so much?" asked Penny, still confused.

At this point Iggy decided to bail. "I'll be in...the next room..." he said quickly before casting a transparency spell and walking through several walls. He knew for a fact that the girls were close and decided to give them some time alone.

He walked through another wall to his observatory. He stopped for a moment, realizing he had not visited it yet since his arrival. It was a giant circular room featuring a large rotatable telescope in it's center. Above it was an actual observational dome, closed at that moment. On the floor was a circular map of the heavens, carved in brown marble and lined with bronze. Surrounding the device on the far walls seemed to be a mini kitchen and bed room; evidently, someone knew that Iggy liked to work for long hours at a time.

After ordering a couple of burgers and engulfing one, Iggy set the plate on the counter and took hold of his wand. Chanting a spell, he pointed the wand at the counter and two pieces of paper taped together rematerialized before him: the Doomsday Manuscript. It had been a while since he had seen it, not since he fled his room from Bowser's forces back on the rock. But with himself somewhat settled down, he could now try to find the rest of the mysteries that surrounded the document.

Picking it up, the first thing that he noticed were the two rounded edges on either side that seemed to give the shape of a larger circle. And as he touched them, something glowed a pale orange behind all the planets.

"The Destroyer." muttered Iggy. It's full shape was off the page, but its identity was unmistakable. But as he held it it aloft, a strange writing came into view, prompting Iggy to put the manuscript back down. He tried to study it, but the moment he had lay his eyes on it, he knew it was nothing like he'd ever seen before. It was totally alien. Nothing of it's kind had ever been found in any of the digs he had done.

"I have no idea." he said, softly laughing to himself. There was no way he would be able to translate any of the text. An idea eventually came to him as he stood there: was this the language of the Gods? Something that no one else was privileged to know, not even someone like Inauro who had made the manuscript itself. The language was never passed down, save among the early Gods who had-

That's when it hit him like a sack of bricks. "A document on another document..." he said aloud. "A spell on anotherNo!" he backed away immediately. "Nononononono...NO! That's impossible!" How could it be possible? Did Inauro's counter spell prevent it from working? Couldn't have. Then what?

"Ok Iggy." he said to himself. "Going back to the Koopa Empire was pretty crazy. But going...to the Destroyer itself is MADNESS." How could that portal work now, anyways? Did Inauro's spell prevent their use of it?

That must have been it, Iggy thought. He knew that the slaves eventually rebelled and an offshoot of the royal family had ousted the Gods and they never returned, so the scriptures say. This meant that the Doomsday Manuscript was far, far older than it appeared. It must have been a two way portal between both worlds long ago, something only the royal family was allowed to keep as was evidenced by Iggy's trip to the Empire. But that was the Gods use of it. What about him, right now? With the way Inauro had cast his spell, it seemed possible.

But going there was something unheard of. Every Koopa historian that he knew had an innate fear about the God's home world, aside from them being cruel slaves masters of their race. They never talked about it. Most had passed it off as a mere legend in any event. But Iggy knew it for what it was worth. It was the home planet of his race and his forefathers were neither kind nor giving.

"So, this is the real reason why I have this." he figured to himself. He knew Bowser was too much of an idiot to figure this out. It was probably filed away by this point, never to be seen again. This made Iggy more thankful as time went past: if he hadn't photocopied it, things would've turned out very different.

But now here he was, and things had turned out far differently than he had expected it. Should he cross into the other side? The idea weighed heavily in his mind. He was one of the most powerful magic users in the family, so he certainly had a surviving chance. But he had no idea what to expect. If anything, he could walk right into their downtown city and be captured at a moments notice. If he was lucky however, he would simply warp to a complex of ruins.

But then another question popped into his mind. "Why are you even considering this?" He then realized his intentions and sighed nervously. "Because I have to go." He did not know why, but something in him told him to go. Was it his explorer side, or was it something else? He didn't know. All he knew is that he found himself casting a purple spell called Magic Eye. A spherical yellow light appeared, the color of Iggy's aura. He then cast another spell and created a yellow portal on the floor, similar to what he did back in his old room.

He again sighed nervously. This was extremely risky. "Let's see what happens." he said as he mentally commanded the light to touch the Doomsday Manuscript. The orange section glowed brightly and there was a flash and the glowing sphere remained still. A moment later, it shifted and within it a picture of the destination could be seen. A dim sun seemed to be setting over the horizon inside dark orange clouds that flowed like a river across the sky. Small echoes of thunder were heard in the distance. But in front of the light was a large pyramidal complex of a strange shape and design, long abandoned and partially in ruin. Iggy turned the eye 360 and saw a vast desert in the opposite direction, but on the far off horizon he could make out what appeared to be lights of a city. They were still alive.

Iggy cast a few more spells. He was donned in a suit of armor with a horizontal visor and spikes on the top of his helmet: a set of armor for magic battles. It was sleek in design and primarily yellow and gray colored. Not waiting another second, he stepped up to the Manuscript and placed his hands upon it. He was surrounded by that same orange flash and was gone.

* * *

Wendy O. Koopa burst through the double doors of the throne room, clearly peeved. Not that this was unexpected as her siblings were used to such behavior, but Junior himself was not accustomed to dealing with such a personality quite yet. And as the doors suddenly opened he jumped up from his seat, startled.

"What did you do to my mall?" she shouted. Clearly Junior was having his way with things.

"Huh? What mall?" he asked, going back to his portable.

"The mall you destroyed and put a kids theme park in it's place!"

Junior thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, that building...so that was a mall? Huh."

That was too much for Wendy, who casually lit a bob-omb and chucked it at him. Junior saw the projectile just in time for him to jump out of the way before it exploded.

"You really do have a lack of depth." said Wendy. "To like, everything."

"Excuse me?" said Junior. "Did I just hear that a shopping mall was more important than a theme park with my gorgeous face all over it?" Wendy's face was beat red. "GUARDS!" shouted Junior, expecting them to escort his sister out of his throne room. However, they just looked at each other and wondered what to do. Wendy snorted. "You two can follow me." she said as the two guards, a Hammer Brother and a Koopatrol, followed her out onto a balcony.

"Like, how can you guys stand that asshat?" Wendy asked them, expecting amusing answers.

The two guards stared at each other. The Hammer Brother shrugged. "It's my job." he said.

"Plus, guarding Prince Bowser Jr. was an order from his majesty himself." said the Koopatrol.

Wendy sighed. "So, I can't convince you guys to lock that brat in his room, huh?"

"Nope!" said Junior, walking out with them. "I'm the Crown Heir now and I can do whatever I want."

As the two siblings proceeded to argue with each other, the Hammer Brother couldn't help but notice something extraordinary in the sky.

"Holy shit, a UFO!" The Bro pulled out his phone and immediately started videoing the large objects that suddenly appeared in the sky above him, somewhat obscured by cloud cover. But the Koopatrol only rolled his eyes.

"Those can't be UFO's." he muttered. "Most likely one of Bowser's space experiments. You would figure they'd at least look like actual ships, no?"

But the Hammer Bro was ignoring him at this point, too focused on the display in front of him. "Oh man, I heard about those sighting near the Barrel Volcano. They say they glowed there too."

The Bro clearly jinxed the situation as the orbs suddenly started glowing red. "Great timing. They're entering the atmosphere now." commented the Koopatrol.

"Huh?" The too siblings turned around and saw the scene for themselves. The glowing orbs passed through the clouds and were clearly nothing that the Hammer Bro was hoping for. His face quickly turned to one of dismay.

"Those arn't UFO's." he said hopelessly.

"No shit! Those are meteors!" exclaimed Wendy. "What the hell is the Troop doing? Those numskulls can't figure out a cinnamon roll from an ass!"

"Sir!" a minion ran through the doorway and saluted. "We have detected many objects entering our orbit!"

"NO SHIT!" screamed Wendy, prompting the minion to fall over. "And like, don't call me sir ever again." One meteor suddenly screeched down down from the sky, a large ball of flame that with a loud explosion hit a building not more than a few miles from their location. The impact knocked everybody off their feet as a plume of dirt and debris shot into the air.

"Shit just got real, man." said the Hammer Bro, gawking at the giant explosion.

"May I suggest running?" asked the Koopatrol, who then got back on his feet and ran back inside the castle. The Hammer Bro followed suit without a word. Wendy and Junior were left alone as they watched what appeared to be a taste of the apocalypse. Balls of flame shot out of the sky, with most appearing near the coast many miles away, but visible from their high standpoint. One hit near the main Koopa City dock in a large explosion of water that knocked many a ship from port into the air, along with docks, people and otherwise. A handful of smaller meteors hit the city proper, causing extensive damage to residential and commercial buildings. The people started to run for cover and the air was filled with sound of explosions, the commotion of people and falling meteors whistling down from the sky.

"Yeah..." began Wendy. "People are totally freaking out now. What are you going to do about this?"

But Junior was silent, locked in a trance as he witnessed something on a scale he had never imagined. And as he stood there, it became evident that one of the meteors was headed right toward them.

Wendy spotted it and noticed Junior's lack of movement. As tempting as it was, even she knew better than that. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" she muttered to herself as she grabbed Juniors arm and dragged him back inside the castle. Moments later, the fireball streaked into the 32nd balcony of the castle's south end.

* * *

Red lights flashed and sirens blared throughout the Galaxy's control room, a large room lined with dozens of workstations seated with various monsters. "We have detected a swarm of meteorites entering the main Koopa City proper!" said one Parakoopa with a headpiece. "12 are estimated to strike!"

In the center of the room on a comfy high rise chair was the former Crown Prince, Ludwig Von Koopa. And to many's mental objections at the moment, he did not issue any commands to resolve the issue. Instead, he remained silent.

"Orders, sir?" asked the Parakoopa, growing impatient.

"There are none to give," replied Ludwig, "Because there is naught to do."

"Sir! May I suggest the photon lasers currently deployed on the surface?"

"You may suggest it," said Ludwig, "But you may not want to become responsible for that outcome. While the weapon may detonate the targets, its rain of debris will create far more damage than what was originally intended. Therefore, there is naught to do." He hummed to himself. "I sincerely hope that the new Crown Prince will have this situation under control soon." he said with a sarcastic tone.

"We have received word that the castle has been struck!" relayed a Buzzy Beetle. "A meteor has breached the 32nd floor!"

"The throne room." said Ludwig. "How terrible. Is there word that Junior survived the event?"

"Yes! Junior and Wendy are said to be safe and unharmed."

"Ah. I'm sure Wendy will be able to accommodate things...for the short-term at least."

"I will inform all related parties of the event." said the Buzzy Beetle as he sent a rely message to Bowser and the rest of the Koopalings. Ludwig scratched his chin in thought. "What is the source trajectory of the meteorites?" he asked.

A screen came up of the Mushroom World superimposed upon holographic statistics. It showed the swarm entering the upper atmosphere. "The meteors entered the skies of Boo Woods before heading in a northeasterly direction to Koopa City. Their source of origin is...from the orbit of the Great Destroyer." The orange, cloudy giant appeared on screen behind the Mushroom World. "That's funny..."

"What is it?" asked Ludwig.

"It seems the Destroyer's axis has tilted during the event. It's axial tilt was 9 degrees before the event, and my readings show that it is now 12 degrees." A motion on screen showed the Destroyer's north pole tilting slightly towards Mushroom World.

"What does this mean?" asked the Buzzy Beetle, clearly confused. Many turned towards Ludwig with similar thoughts. How could a meteor shower cause something so major as an axial tilt?

But Ludwig remained silent for a long while and nobody dared speak up. He knew what was occurring, something he outlined long ago in sequence before the disasters began to happen. If it was dancing now, then the stage was already set up, wasn't it? But as he looked at all the faces awaiting an answer, he had trouble forming the proper words for one, something so easily understood to a simple mind not tortured by the truth. In the end, all he could do was sigh and close his eyes.

But his thoughts were soon interrupted. "What the...?" said a Magikoopa. Ludwig looked at him. "It's axis is shifting again."

"To what extent?" Ludwig said quickly.

"I'm not sure. It has begun it's previous forward motion and is currently tilting at 15 degrees, but..." The screen in front shifted to the Destroyer, which was clearly moving in place now. "...there is no signs of it stopping it's current trend."

"Then the 2nd phase has begun." muttered Ludwig.

"And that means...?" said one fuzzy.

"It means the glorious days of our luxurious lifestyles have come to an end. I sincerely hope that all of you have chosen a designated shelter at this point." He chuckled. "For the book of our age is about to close."

At that, sirens went off again. "The Destroyer is now at a 33 degree axial tilt! It is now facing the Mushroom World!"

"Look!" pointed one dry bones. All looked and saw their own world began to miraculously move on its own. It's axis began to tilt, bringing it's south pole upwards towards the Destroyer. "Mushroom World's tilt is at 25 degrees! What the hell is going on...?"

"The Destroyers north pole will be facing our direction soon!" said the Magikoopa. A rumble was suddenly felt throughout the Galaxy; more lights went off and many of the indentured servants there looked more than a little frightened by that.

"What was that?" asked the fuzzy, trying to figure out the situation.

"That was the Destroyer's magnetic field." Ludwig said. "Specifically the magnetons from the north pole. We have no choice but to align with it."

"Or?"

Ludwig looked annoyed. "Or the immense pressure of maintaining our own field will be so immense that the physical structure will be completely shredded apart."

"You mean the Galaxy-" A major rumble shook the room violently. Some of the computers surged and exploded, sending their operators across the room. The lights went out and the front screen went dark. After a moment, red emergency lights flashed on, dimming everything with a dull red. A few of the computers came back to life as much of the crew scrambled back to their seats.

"Backup systems are online! Damage includes-"

"Spare me the details! Align the Galaxy's southern axis with the Destroyer immediately!" Ludwig growled.

"Yes sir!" Near the bottom of the Galaxy, blue thrusters fired up and slowly tilted the massive complex backwards. The front screen fired up again and the two dancing planets slowly moved to the bottom of view. As the giant complex leaned backwards, the rumblings continued and the Galaxy received more damage on its top end. But gradually their intensity faded to nothing more than dull rumbles in the hull as the structure rested on it's back along a horizontal axis.

"Rumblings have stopped." sighed a Goomba.

"Damage in the northern K, Y and M sectors." said a Bob-omb. "All main lights are offline. Emergency lighting in these sectors remain steady. Gravitational systems remain operational. Power has been redirected to only vital services within the Galaxy."

"Do not worry about the outer structural damage." said Ludwig. "Focus on keeping the essential systems of the interior running at full capacity."

"Sir?"

"The Galaxy will not survive much longer." said Ludwig. "Soon, the time will come when we all must depart for the inevitable. It is a much better chance, after all. Speaking of which, what of the Mushroom World?"

"No changes in the upper level atmosphere." reported a shy guy. "Earthquakes have occurred within the Mushroom Bay Trench, near Rougeport. No immediate damage reported in that area."

"This shift will affect the weather, slowly." said Ludwig. "The general denizens might notice that." He hummed. "Fortunately, the Destroyer is still far enough to not be seen in the sky yet, except at sunset within the correct conditions. But that will change as it draws closer."

He got up and walked to the exit as the operators groaned to themselves of what that realization meant. The doors whizzed open and Ludwig walked out of the room. "I wonder how she'll take it." he muttered to himself as he thought about Kylie before the doors closed behind him.

* * *

Red emergency lights cast an ominous glow down the plain hallway, one lined with large stainless steel plated doors heavily locked and sealed. Several Sumo Brothers paced back and forth, keeping the peace, whatever peace there was. The Galaxy's asylum was for all those who could not handle the truth or refused to abide by the rules. Many here were locked up after long meetings with the council, with most having not seen the light of day again. It was a true testament to the Galaxy's heart breaking rule structure. It was the main reason why most decided not to misbehave.

One Sumo Bro. at the asylum entrance looked at the visitor who stepped in and seemed amused. Was he going to try this again?

"He hasn't changed since the last time." he muttered. He opened the gate anyway.

"Hey, it doesn't stop me from trying!" said Wario, pointing at him. "I could get him back into shape if he'd forget that nonsense and snapped to it, ya know?"

"You said that last time." said the Sumo as Wario walked through the gate and strolled down the hallway. "And that goes for everyone else."

"Watch me!" shouted Wario, far down the hall. The Sumo could only shake his head after what happened the last time: two Sumo's badly injured, one with severe head injuries and all for asking a simple question.

But that didn't stop Wario, nor did most things for that matter. If he wanted it then it was his, so he thought. But as he passed by each cell through the hall and overheard the incomprehensible muttering, banging and mindless screaming, he wondered for the first time if...

"Bah!" Wario said aloud. He wouldn't allow it to happen. Sure, some people were never meant to know the truth to things. Their screams were their testament to a previous life of happiness and good sex...maybe. Good sex was hard to come by these days, that was true. That's why Mona was like a priceless gem, but like anything priceless it was very demanding.

As Wario thought about better times, he almost walked by his destination. He snapped out of it immediately and thought about his new strategies. One of these had to work. With a little more confidence, he took off his glove and scanned his thumbprint. The door hissed and levers moved about as Wario put it back on. Two major bolts slid back into the wall and 4 more vertical bolts slid backwards until the final center deadbolt slowly turned back with a mechanical sound. After the impressive show of security, the door slowly slid inwards, revealing a poorly lit room lined with white padding from head to toe, save for a small circular window near the ceiling on the other end. Wario looked down and saw that they still didn't clean up the mess from the other day: dried blood and what appeared to be some muscle. The pussies couldn't man up to it after that stunt, apparently.

Wario looked about, but saw nothing moving. "Hey bozo, you still alive?" he shouted.

Something stirred in the shadowy back corner, something wrapped in a tight white harness that struggled to get to its feet. It took a while, but eventually it used the wall and stood up. As he came into the light, it became apparent to Wario that Waluigi looked like a different man. Without his hat, his wiry hair fell in all directions but that didn't cover up his now sickly, pale face. He was clearly malnourished and looked like he was a million miles away.

"What's your definition of alive?" asked Waluigi, hardly looking at his older sibling. "I tried to live, yes. I tried that. But they want to cage you instead. Cage your mind. You see? I'm the prime example. If I can't cage my mind, they do it for me. They are afraid of something. What are they afraid of, Wario? What is it?"

"They're afraid of you." said Wario.

"Why? What's wrong with living in peace?" answered Waluigi. "Peace and comfort? They can do everything for us, yes. Don't have to worry nothing about that. We just need to survive. Yes, with that nice girl."

"You mean Luigi's gal? The gal you almost raped?"

Waluigi hissed and cringed his teeth. "All lies. Nonsense. Luigi is a fool. Why did he try to stop me?"

"Because it's his girl, you dumb ass." replied Wario. "You need to keep your cool with these things."

"I did everything right." continued Waluigi. "Daisy's to be the bride of the group, you know? Everything has to be right. I got her comfortable. We was drinking you know."

"Yeah I know this story." said Wario. "This is only the 5th time you told me."

"I was there at the right time. Luigi went to piss-"

"Then you grabbed her tits and she screamed." said Wario, rolling his eyes. "I know the deal."

"Why did she scream?" asked Waluigi. Wario face-palmed. Was it too late for his little bro?

"Because she doesn't like you, obviously." muttered Wario. "But that's not why I'm here. You heard what happened? Must of felt it."

"Yeah. This whole place was shaking not too long ago." said Waluigi. "Is it finally starting to tear apart?"

"What do you mean, 'finally'?" asked Wario. "It was never meant to!"

"Just a small hope, that's all. I can finally bust out of here...and get what I want. You're saying it's finally coming apart?"

Wario scratched his head. "I don't know how it all works, but that planet just shifted something at us, magnetics or something. Flipped the whole thing on it's side. It's fine now, but I bet the guy at the top was pretty surprised."

"Who is that again?" asked Waluigi.

"I don't know, some son of Bowser's." said Wario. "Like I give a shit. Point is brother, I may be leaving soon. Not too safe up here anymore. Besides, I have much more treasure on the surface I can play with."

"Do you have a girl to play with?" asked Waluigi.

For Wario, that hit a little too close to home after his problems with Mona. "No, do you?"

"No, I wish I did though." Waluigi said, with a sad expression. "Why doesn't she love me?" He groaned. "You know, If this was easy, they'd let us go. Just like that, brother. And we'd be happy even after everything gets destroyed."

Wario sighed. This was clearly not going to work. The end of the world apparently made Waluigi obsessed about his love, not unlike a certain Koopa King. And while he hoped that the Galaxy crumbling from the recent tremors would help brighten Waluigi's spirits and make him somewhat sane again, it was only exacerbating the situation.

"Well, that's the news." said Wario. "If you get lucky, you might bust out of this place once everyone else leaves it. Or if it gets damaged enough. Who knows." He turned to leave and walked back out through the metallic doorway.

"Hey bro," asked Waluigi, "There's no going back, is there?"

Wario thought for a moment, then shook his head. He reactivated the door and it slowly hissed back into place, leaving a thoughtful Waluigi behind in his madness. Wario walked off, slightly peeved as the door re-bolted itself. The Sumo Brother at the entrance knew better to just say nothing as the fat plumber walked out of the asylum.


	14. The Three Wands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iggy Koopa travels to the planet Naru and enters the Temple of Koopa, only to find a bigger puzzle that sheds greater light on the Koopa hierarchy back home.

The readings came back: 78% Nitrogen. 21% Oxygen. It was exactly the same as back on Mushroom World. Confident, Iggy let his helmet fall back and exposed himself to an air not felt for tens of thousands of years. Dark, orange clouds filled all the sky and blotted out the stars. The sun was seen over the horizon within a hazy vale; even the sun had a hard time penetrating through, leaving the surface in a dusky gloom. Purple lightnings flashed in the distance in front of him, but to his right was his real treasure.

Turning, Iggy saw the mammoth structure loom before him, a pyramid of immense size. It was much taller than even the Pyramid of Marthos and Iggy guessed that it must have been well over 300 feet high. But it's glory days were long over, as much of its outer layer had been eroded, leaving behind patches of well decorated cover stones with simple sandstones mixed around and underneath. Pillars were littered around the place, most around the entrance which Iggy walked towards. 

As he approached the doorway, he noticed a pair of tall statues and forced himself to stop. Each was about 20 feet high and depicted monstrous creatures with large bulgy arms and legs with long curved claws, supported by a large well carved chest. It's head was more gruesome, with large curled horns from its temples and what appeared to be double rows of sharp teeth. Considering the statues craftsmanship, Iggy had a feeling they were realistic depictions of the God's themselves. Strangely, they had never been accurately illustrated within ancient Koopa scripture, save as a mythological element. Iggy hoped that they looked nothing like that, especially since he was only slightly taller than the statues knees. But looking back at the doorway and seeing it's immense height and width, the reality slowly sinked in: this is what they looked like.

In any event, he had to keep moving. He decided it was best to not run into any of these guys, and with that in mind Iggy walked up to the entrance of the pyramid.  Aside from its large size, the door was held shut by a glowing green sphere that seemed to shimmer brighter as he approached. He only wondered for a moment before remembering the first time he used the Doomsday Manuscript. He placed his hand on the sphere and instantly his hand was outlined. A moment later, the door rumbled and parted but stopped less than half way, enough room for someone his size to get through. But if the door parted all the way, Iggy knew that one of those giant behemoths would easily be able to walk in. 

Looking back, Iggy looked across the endless desert and saw lights on the horizon. He hoped that he wouldn't make too much of a ruckus, since the last thing he wanted to do was fight those things. "Yeah right..." he said to himself as he turned back around and entered the pyramid.

The hallway was dark and lined with sleek stone walls enclosing a strange bluish, foggy hue. He stepped forward and the door quickly closed behind him, shrouding him in darkness. Thinking quickly, he got out his wand and cast a light spell. The wand's gem beamed to life and cast it's glow around him. Seeing his path, he walked forward quickly, wanting to get this over with. 

As he made his way into the ancient temple, he began to see words inscribed in the walls that he couldn't make out, but on second glance they looked similar to those on the Doomsday Manuscript. As he passed side passages that plunged into unknown depths, the writings increased with intensity until full hieroglyphics were seen. Like the two statues at the entrance, they depicted great monstrous beings with large curled horns and double rows of teeth. Below them in endless lines were a much smaller folk with hooked mouths carrying rocks, pulling loads and building giant structures. They resembled the Koopa Troopa back home. One glyph showed what appeared to be one of the giants with a large crown alongside a smaller one with a crown, who's head was barely above the formers knees. "Yeah..." he thought, "Those statues were definitely accurate. Wonderful." He moved with a greater sense of urgency now. They would have none of their former slave race wandering around their planet, that's for sure.

After what seemed like an hour wandering the same path, climbing steps and reading more inscriptions, Iggy finally came into a large room. It was strangely shaped; the walls and floor were curved, like a torus. But a walkway was placed down the middle, and from this Iggy walked to the center of the room which housed something interesting. A stone pedestal supported a long, triangular contraption standing vertically. Approaching closer, Iggy could make out its real design. It was a long triangular column that jutted through the floor, and its top was barely level with Iggy's neck. But the top had something else: 3 small sliding doors, with two of them open. The other was fast shut and covered in a layer of dust. Below these doors was a symbol in the shape of a rounded triangle with 3 circles in its corners. The top circle was painted red, the left one black and the right one white.

Iggy compared the symbol to the doors. If this was correct, then the red and black sections were open and the white remained closed. But there were no obvious ways of opening it, aside from prying it open with ones claws. With that already attempted, Iggy put his hand over the remaining door and tried to think of a chant or something similar that might move it. He tried several spells in sequence, but nothing worked. After he tried a spell that could open anything magically sealed and see that fail, he got very nervous.

"Ok, think of something clever." Iggy said to himself as he tried to think of a way of opening it. He imagined how it would open up under intense pressure when suddenly, the door casually slid to the side. Iggy made a face, clearly befuddled. Did he just think his problem away, or was it just a coincidence? Or was it something else?

A shining light beamed from the orifice, and out rose a brilliant and bright wand. Iggy couldn't tell what it was immediately made of, as its surface was covered by a shearing light, but the fact that it was a wand made him stop and think to himself. 

It was well known throughout Koopa tradition that whoever held the Wand of the Koopas (within the royal family) would become the next King of the Koopas. Each king always had a statue made for himself holding it. The wand could not be possessed by anyone else unless the previous owner had died, and the wand gave its master powerful, almost supernatural abilities. As the Koopa Kingdom developed into a more modern society, this was attributed to special aspects of the royal family's blood: something about it made the wand as powerful as it was. It was as old as the family itself: many legends state it was carved by the God's long ago.

But that was the thing: there was only one known wand that could do this. And yet here were 3! The Wand of the Koopas had a large red gem on it's end, so Iggy guessed it was probably the red wand. If that was correct, then the black wand was unaccounted for while the white one had been sealed away for reasons unknown. But if it was anywhere near as powerful as the Wand of the Koopas...

It hit Iggy then. If he even so much as touched the wand, then he would undoubtedly have a power equal to Bowser's. He would become the most powerful Koopaling, even surpassing Ludwig. If it was anything like Bowser's wand, then Iggy would be a force to be reckoned with until the day he died. Once taking a hold of it, there was no going back. He had to make a choice.

There was a dull rumble throughout the complex at that moment, the sound of massive doors sliding back. Far off down the tunnel came the echoes of strange, gnarling voices with a sense of urgency. Iggy's time was running out. He had to decide now. Given that they had somehow guessed he was in the complex, fighting his way out at that moment may prove to be difficult especially if they were more proficient in magic than he was. Seeing as how they made the 3 wands...

"God dammit." he muttered. He reached and took the wand from the small chamber. Almost instantly, his hand sweltered and burned at the touch. Grimacing, he felt a sharp pain rip up his right arm and through his neck. Looking up, he saw his world altered, mixed in a myriad of planes and objects overlapping one another. In that moment reality was not so obvious, and Iggy struggled to ground himself into the plane of existence that he knew. Adapting to the pain that reeked through his body, he tried to focus on the physical plane and sure enough, the planes faded to the point that he could see the walkway that he had come from. But the walls of that path now reflected strange green lights: they were coming. Iggy looked about the chamber for any place to hide, and looking up he saw a plane extend itself into his reality creating a bending of light and shadow, allowing him to see an alcove that rested atop of the torus-like chamber. 

Moments later, the beings literally ran into the room. They were very close to the statues set up outside, with arm and leg chokers, tight leather straps which housed all sorts of devices and huge shells with 6"-10" spikes sticking up into the air. Their double rows of teeth glistened as they roared, disturbing the long standing silence of the chamber. From the middle of their company walked a taller one, dressed in black robes with gold lining and a large black wand entwined with rubies and a large diamond for a gem. Iggy did not like the looks of that wand, not one bit.

Upon halting in front of the triangular altar, they rapidly spoke in their own language. Iggy could not understand them and wondered at what they said, before the wand seamlessly translated the words inside his own mind. Iggy mentally sighed to himself and knew that the wand was going to take some getting used to. They seemed to be debating about something.

"It couldn't have been a slave!" said another. "It must have been a descendant of that rebel. He's come seeking vengeance!"

"But the Star Spirits have not allowed travel between--"

"Yes, I know!" growled the first. "Don't remind me. Why did they have to butt into our business?!"

"Because the time of the race of Koopa is drawing to a close." said the priest in the black robes. "Most will not survive this coming pass. It would be pointless to descend."

"But that doesn't explain how he got on our planet." said the second being. "The ban works both ways."

"And I've given thought to it." replied the priest. "There are ways around a ban, even in magic. But they would not dare take advantage of it except for a single purpose. And no slave is allowed to step onto our world: only the bloodline has that right. He is here, undoubtedly. We shall scan the temple and set out to capture him."

"Why can't we just execute him?" asked one.

"Because he a son of Koopa," said the priest, "And though he and his kin have been banished from our world forever, he was royalty and you know the laws of royalty. Capture him, but do not kill him. You two, head back to the front."

At once the beings spread out amongst themselves and began to cast spells. Several ran back down the hallway they came. Iggy wondered what he could do now. He knew they were heading for the only known exit out of the place. With no other options, he was going to have to trust his new wand, and his luck. 

He focused on the spell casters and saw they were casting some type of scanning spell. He moved further back into the alcove as quietly as he could until he noticed an opening in the wall. Through it was a large dark hallway that led to blackness in both directions. Hearing nothing, Iggy moved away from the hole and cast his wand about: his body slowly became transparent until he was fully invisible to the naked eye, wand included. Just in time as mere moments later, a wave of green energy swept through him and the complex. The voices spoke up again, farther away.

"There's something in the northeast quadrant." said one. "I can't tell what kind of signature it is."

"Doesn't matter." said the priest. "Spread out to the energy points and make sure he doesn't get to the center of the temple!"

"Yes!" With that came more green flashes, then the room seemed to be silent. But Iggy frowned; somehow, they had detected him despite his invisibility. If they could detect that, then how could he mask his movements? He quietly sighed to himself. Somehow, he needed to figure out a way to camouflage his own magic signature. 

Iggy looked through the planes of existence, seeing if they could help him out in any way. One plane showed him energy currents that flowed throughout the entire complex, all meeting within a central core at the heart of the temple. Peering through the walls, Iggy saw the guards placed at certain points of this flow while others still headed toward him. A brilliant idea hit him then, it was that or a futile dash to the entrance. 

After a few more minutes, the guards reached the last known location of the intruder, but their target wasn't there. Instead, they found another guard searching the ground for something. 

"Did you see him?" asked one of them. "He's around here somewhere."

"He was here moments ago." said the guard. "He seemed to be running towards the central core."

"Then he has already learned to use the wand. We must hurry!" The 3 guards darted off towards the center, trying to pick up any signs of the intruder. But as they drew closer, it became clear to them that they had lost him. They kept running and after jumping down a few steps, they came upon a ledge within the center of the complex: a large rectangular space with a glowing sphere of energy in its center. Scattered about were various pieces of machinery of the race's past on display, specifically various works of it's previous colony on Mushroom World. 

"We must meditate again." said the guard and the others held up their wands to cast another scanning spell. Their huge wands twinkled and across from them on a ledge appeared Iggy Koopa, staring intently at them. At once, he used his wand to blast a fireball at one of the guards, who fell off the edge and onto the floor below. The other two immediately fired back, but Iggy ran down the hallway behind him.  
"Missed!"

"The others are coming. He has no chance now!" Sure enough, all of the guards began assembling around the central core on all the other ledges and pathways. Some began to scan the area again before Iggy suddenly reappeared one ledge away from the original two guards and fired another blast of energy before running back towards the wand room. 

"Get him!" All of the guards emptied out of the room, following the tricky Koopaling through the maze of hallways. When the room became silent, the guard on the floor grunted and got up on his feet. Seeing what happened, he softly laughed to himself as his form suddenly shape-shifted into the original Iggy Koopa. 

"Heh...That's more like it." he said to himself and surveyed his surroundings. Much of the machinery on display were of mining and masonic mechanisms used for the building of the god's cities. Also included were various types of large aircraft, most of which were of a metallic orange color with golden highlights. They all looked to be designed for the gods, with very large entrance ways and cabin widths. There was one with its wingspan folded upwards that was a bit smaller with a shorter doorway more suited to Iggy's height. A sign in front of it in ancient read "DANTEK  his royal vessel, recovered after the second rebellion." 

The name sounded familiar. It was certainly in the Book of Kings, somewhere in the late first dynasty if Iggy remembered right. It was around that time that the planet had suffered what had been termed the apocalypse, or what Iggy guessed was a passing of the Destroyer. The populace had risen up against the giants and hunted them down across the globe, causing them to take the wand he now had and evacuate the planet before the pending pole shift. But Iggy couldn't remember where Dantek was in the order of the kings.

In any event, Iggy decided that he had distracted himself long enough and initiated the second phase of his plan. Noting that there were aircraft in the room, he looked up to see any viable exits that they may have squeezed through in the past. Seeing the outline of two horizontal windows on either side of the room gave him more confidence. It was possible he wouldn't have to blow a hole in the place.

Iggy moved to the other side of the plane, looking for an opening somewhere in the hull. Spotting the outline of a doorway, he thought about opening it and as he did so, so did the door with a swift swoosh. He couldn't but smirk to himself. He really needed to remember that.

Entering the large cabin, he saw two lines of red couches on each wall and a curvy table in the center, with a large book resting upon it. The exterior colors lived on inside, with oranges, golds and whites mixing in various patterns across the surfaces. To his right he saw a small kitchen with a strange looking device on the wall; he couldn't tell what it was. Beyond that was a door: peering in, he saw a small bedroom with a bed, a couch and some lights. "Wow." was all he decided to say at the moment. 

Iggy walked up to the front of the ship and entered the cockpit. He sat in one of the two seats and looked at the controls, trying to find some kind of start up mechanism. But the controls were all stiff and unresponsive and there was no obvious "power on" button of any kind. It was a while before he noticed something he should have seen earlier: a glowing crystal situated in between both seats resting in some type of sliding drawer. Naturally, Iggy pushed the drawer inwards and at once, the ship powered to life. Lights flickered on and a large holographic overlay was superimposed upon the screen in front of him displaying too many things for him to read at once. But he did notice a large globe to his right, which he guessed was the Great Destroyer. 

But then he felt a presence nearby. Taking his wand, he shifted to the plane of magic and saw that some of the gods were slowly returning to the central chamber. He had to go now. Thinking quickly, he played around with some of the controls and managed to activate the hull thrusters which made the ship slowly levitate off the ground as well as extend the wingspan to the horizontal. Using his wand again, he thought about the giant stone doors above and sure enough they slowly slid back to the sides.

"This thing is awesomeYouuch!" The ship reeled from a magic blast. A diagram showed that the ship wasn't harmed in any way...yet. But Iggy got the point. He thrust forwards on the half wheel in front of him and started to slowly fly out. More magic blasts came hurling in and rocked the ship back and forth, but no serious damage was done and the shields easily maintained their hold. 

As the ship exited the room, Iggy caught glance of the last god to enter it: the high priest himself, who simply stared at him with a mixed expression as the ship flew through the opening.

"Vengeance has been taken." Iggy heard in his mind as the ship flew into the sky. It was telepathy...was it from the head priest? Iggy had no time to figure it out as the temple shrank further and further from view like a horrid dream falling back into time. In front of him lay the storm of clouds that he was about to enter. The holograph was buzzing with warnings. 

Iggy looked at the display. Spacecraft were approaching him, 4 of them. Pushing on the accelerator, he blasted into the storm that encircled the planet. Clouds and lightning surrounded him and Iggy couldn't see where he was going. From the radar in his display, it appeared that the 4 fighters were taking on a half circle formation behind him to try to prevent any movement to the sides.

Iggy grumbled to himself and flew up at a steeper angle. The 4 struggled to keep up and started to fire at their target, with most shots missing due to the thick cloud cover. But that obstacle suddenly vanished as Iggy exited the atmosphere of the Destroyer and met the starry expanse of space in front of him. The fighters tried to reestablish their former positions but at that moment something happened. 

Before the fighters renewed their attack on Iggy, an invisible force suddenly slammed into them. Iggy found himself being pulled downward, with the hologram showing the destroyer itself tilting in orbit, with the Mushroom World tilting in response. Iggy did a double-take on it.

"Is that even possible?" he asked himself, but his reasoning quickly returned to him. This was the great dance of the planets that he had researched before E. Gadd himself mentioned this particular phase of the pole shift. He shook his head. "This is happening way too soon." Iggy accelerated, trying to overcome the inertia with his enemies behind him now trying to make a full retreat, but were hopelessly dragged down instead. Iggy wondered what he could do before he was dragged down along with everything else. He saw many of the planet's satellites float by him along with small meteors. Steering was starting to get difficult.

Iggy looked at his front console for anything that could help him out. He saw a slider with what roughly translated as "sonic speed." Sliding it right, the ship's speed suddenly accelerated rapidly and escaped the planet's magnetic field with a large boom. That was easy. He slid it back to normal and looked up, but frowned as he saw the Mushroom World, now in front of him and tilting in place, trying to evade the adjusting magnetic field of the Destroyer. Meteors were headed towards the surface. Iggy knew that things were going to heat up now and that any other plans he had for his shelter would have to be done quickly before industry began to falter. He still felt that this was happening way too soon, especially since much of the Temple of Marthos had remained unexplored due to a lack of time. He also wondered what would happen to the Galaxy after this was over, which made him remember where he was going.

Iggy headed to the other side of Mushroom World, where the Galaxy was in orbit above the planet. When he approached the station, Iggy first realized that it was lying on its side, with its southern point facing towards the Destroyer. The northern half was heavily damaged. Evidently, the Mushroom World wasn't the only body that needed to align with the Destroyer. But Iggy knew that he should start thinking about leaving the Galaxy soon. As the station was now under the Destroyer's magnetic field, damage could only accrue over time. He only wondered how damaged his room was. 

As Iggy approached the Galaxy, he realized that he had no place to put his new toy. He never did get  any personalized transport for himself like Ludwig. Thinking for a moment, he pointed the wand where his apartment was and a garage add-on was manifested, wide enough for him to dock right inside of it. "That was too easy..." he muttered to himself as he pulled the ship inside of it.  There had to be a catch in using this thing. Life was too simple with it, despite all the many planes of existence that he saw and had to get used to.  Even then, he glanced through the wall and saw his observatory much the way he left it, except that the lights were now off, replaced by red emergency lights on the lower ceiling. 

"Way too easy..." Iggy got up from his seat and walked out of the ship. He passed through the wall connecting the garage to his apartment and entered the observatory. Indeed, the observatory was almost like he had left it, minus the lighting. He did notice damage on some wall coverings near the ceiling however. He didn't know if the telescope would still work under those limitations or not.

Iggy walked up to the still glowing manuscript. Raising his wand, the manuscript slowly dematerialized and flowed into his new wand. After dispelling his now useless teleportation marker on the floor, he stood silent for many moments. What he had just done was only now being absorbed, and knew that he had performed a major act in history. History that may never be written, a history that may never be known...at least until the world changes. Iggy knew that with a wand as powerful as the Koopa King's it was useless to try to hide it, but adapting to the new found powers was another story. His social standing would rise dramatically and he wondered how that would pan out amongst his siblings.

Then he heard something. No, it was more than one voice. He raised his wand and tried to see who they were, but they seemed to come from every direction. 

I'm not that easy, you know... 

"What?" Iggy was clueless. But the voice sounded feminine--

Our usual constitutional is anything but easy, my dear. Another voice, male. 

Should be a good set today. I'm going to need this. I just feel it.

Why the hell would you buy that? That's like, totally worthless.

Two rounds up! Hell yeah, man!

Mmm...

She WILL be mine. I've waited too long for this.

How many more games will they play before they realize what's going on?

The voices were too numerous now, many happening simultaneously. Iggy was confused as hell. Were these thoughts? If these were thought forms...

He shifted his planar perception to one typically found in his brain examination labs: brain wave analysis. What he saw disturbed him: an endlessly intricate network of electric signals firing back and forth across space. If those were the essence of thoughts, then Iggy was truly impressed and a bit frightened. He could now see and read thought forms. 

"I gotta slow down..." he said aloud. This was going a little too fast for him and he was certain that he hadn't nearly seen everything that the wand was capable of. Just knowing that he could read people's minds was enough for him at the moment, not to mention the journey he undertook. It had really been a long day.

Iggy walked through a wall and passed through his laboratory, only pausing for a moment to inspect any potential damage. Not seeing anything significant, he walked through another wall and passed into his main living quarters. It was dark here as well, with red lights casting a glow across everything below. But Iggy could see that his kitchen was a bit messy, with dirty plates in the sink and an empty tub of ice cream sitting on the counter alongside open bottles of liquor. The girls definitely had their way with things, Iggy thought. One of the bottles he immediately recognized, for it was one of his own creations: The Mad Scientist, coconut cinnamon rum. He was a little surprised that someone actually drank it, since most people thought it was disgusting. He saw that it was half empty. He smirked, remembering when he took Ludwig's Aria Carant. That was a long day too. "Must I finish this too?" Iggy mused to himself.

He heard some shuffling not far from him. Iggy looked across and saw that his couch was folded out and occupied by the two who had messed up his kitchen. Ashley was sound asleep on the left, her hair unbraided and flowing down across the sheets and onto the floor. Penny had shifted in her sleep on the right and was now facing the other way. 

Iggy inhaled and realized his glowing wand was still out. He put it away and hoped the light didn't wake them up. The voices also died down a little and Iggy hoped they would shut up so he could pass out. But if that wouldn't work...

He snatched the Mad Scientist and slowly snuck across the room, making very little noise. It appeared the girls were still sleeping and he had got off easy. The giant glass doors quietly rolled back and Iggy walked up the carpeted steps to his bedroom before the doors closed. 

There was silence for a long time. He stared at the stars up above him. He chugged on his bottle and heard the voices get quieter, but he was hardly paying any attention to them now. The real question was "Now what?" His wand would make him stick out in the family hierarchy and he wasn't so sure that this was a good time for it. Iggy had a feeling that since the world was going down, so would Ludwig's long time plan. The voices he had been hearing had included some of Ludwig's thoughts and Iggy was sure of it. Not that he thought it was morally right to read other peoples minds. But he didn't want to bud into that business. It's not like he had to show off his new wand anyway. Hell, most if not all didn't even know it existed!

He chugged again. The bottle was getting empty. He put it down and slipped out of his shell, very tired after his crazy adventure. Slipping inside his covers, he wondered about what that triad in the temple meant, and what made those wands so special together before he fell asleep.

* * *

Iggy opened his eyes, but quickly realized he wasn't in his apartment. He was looking out a narrow stone window sill with the setting sun beaming through. "One day, you might retrieve it." said a voice. The sound of rockets came through and he thought he could see objects crossing the sun and reaching into the heavens before all faded to black.

* * *

He woke up again, but again was not in his apartment. The room had an ancient feel, with golden furniture and colorful hieroglyphics carved in all the wall and pillars. He looked down at his sheets and also realized his legs were shorter. He was a different Koopaling; a dresser nearby included a mirror that gave back his reflection which included a pale yellow mohawk. He was a child.

His door suddenly opened and in appeared a skinny, aged Koopa with green hair. "You heard the summons?" he said. "Do not worry. In time you will remember everything again. Do not lose yourself in the dark ages and remain true to yourself. Go back to sleep son, you will wake up in a better place." The door closed, and the young Koopa fell back onto his bed and as he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness.

* * *

Again he woke up, this time by explosions. He was in a cold muddy ditch, next to a murky pool of water. His legs and arms were much longer now, and guessed he was older. Fireballs and cries filled the air in an otherwise starry night. He tried to get up but felt pain all over his body and fell over on his stomach. Struggling, he crawled his way to the edge of the ditch and saw a battle ensuring: tank-like vehicles firing magic blasts at armored soldiers. The Earth rumbled in protest and none of the combatants seemed to notice. He had no idea what was going on, or so he thought.

"When is this going to end?" he heard himself say. Not a moment later, and the stars above suddenly wheeled across the sky. Everyone then stared up at the spectacle and many looked hopeless. Some cast themselves on the ground in seeming defeat. He suddenly felt disappointed. Their heritage was lost because of their own degraded countrymen.

The Earth rumbled again, and a noise came over the horizon and quickly grew. He looked to the left and saw a gigantic wave headed towards him, engulfing everything. He grew afraid. "Go back to sleep..." he told himself as the wave approached him. But before it hit him, he suddenly heard a feminine voice out of the darkness.

"No, wake up."

* * *

Iggy woke up, covered in animal skins and fur blankets. He felt very cold, and saw that he was now in a makeshift tent. A small fire burned in the corner and the leftovers of the latest catch were seen in a pile, surrounded by snow. He looked down and saw that he was a child again. What on Earth was going on? Was he really dreaming?

A large muscular Koopa pulled back the tent flap and quickly closed it, trying not to let any snow get inside. He wore simple leather armor and appeared very rough around the edges. 

"You were dreaming of the gods again, wern't you?" he asked. All Iggy could do was nod his head in affirmation. The large Koopa sighed.

"It is not your fault. We cannot control what happens when we dream. But to speak of the accursed who enslaved us is still punishable by death. Never forget Tivrim, we rose up against them, against their bitter tyranny and slew them down for their misdeeds against us. The great flood wipe out the rest of their once great culture. And all their survivors fled before us, and we finally became a free people. Some say we are still hunting them. But never talk about what happens in your dreams son. Especially if they are of the gods. It is best to put the past behind us." He stopped for a moment. "Try to get some sleep. We have a long march tomorrow." With that, he stepped out and Iggy fell back onto his bed. It was almost like lucid dreaming. But he felt that this wasn't quite what was happening. So then what? Something about past lives floated through his mind before he fell asleep yet again.

"You arn't dreaming. This is real..."

* * *

Iggy woke up again, hoping to see his familiar apartment. But alas it was not so. He was in a regal-style castle and the sun was blazing through the windows: it was the late medieval stage in Koopa history. Iggy looked at himself again but was totally shocked at what he saw: not only from the Koopa girl that lay on his naked chest, but from how big his breasts were!

"Wait, I'm female?" he said aloud, but the voice was feminine. What the fuck, was that even possible? The girl moaned and opened her eyes, her head between Iggy's large tits.

"Were you talking in your sleep again?" she asked sleepily.

Somehow Iggy kept calm, but his thoughts were racing a million miles an hour. "I-I think so..." he said, "...I had a horrible dream. I remember I was stranded---Ahh!"

The girl payed no attention and was too busy sucking Iggy's nipple. He moaned and ran his fingers through her hair. She smiled back at him. "It's okay, it's over now." She snuggled back into Iggy's tits. "We'll do the rest in the morning. I'm sleepy..." She closed her eyes and lay still.

As trippy as this was, Iggy wished to finally wake up. He just wanted to see his own reality again, though he knew for certain what was going on. He closed his eyes and before blackness over took him...

"Wake up..."

What was that voice?

"Why won't you wake up?"

* * *

With a groan, Iggy reluctantly opened his eyes. He saw his bureau against the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. Why he had gone through his past lives, he wasn't quite sure. Dreams were strange like that...or maybe the wand was trying to show him something? Iggy didn't want to think about it. He just wanted a good nights sleep.

He reached for the Mad Scientist sitting on his nightstand. There was still a little left, enough for him to forget his dreams for a while. In a way, it was a little sad. He'd rather use it for other things. Iggy chugged down the rest of the booze before putting it back on the nightstand. 

"Finally..." 

His eyebrows furrowed. Someone was laying next to him. He smelled the stench of alcohol. He already knew who it was, but he laid still. 

"What's going on?" he asked.

"What is going on..." she said, turning again. "I told you to wake up like, ten times."

"I woke up in a million places..." he laughed. "Just not here."

"Why not...here?"

Iggy sighed, remembering the wand. He was almost certain that the wand had done it. 

"Cause I had to be asleep to visit those million places."

"Iggy..." 

He finally turned over and looked at Penny, who looked flushed and half asleep. 

"Iggy, I shook you a million times too. It was...weird."

"It was magic...probably." said Iggy.

"Magic..." she said mockingly.

Iggy turned back over again. "Magic is just a technology not understood by science."

Penny frowned. "So magic makes you sleep like a rock?"

"It can, with the right spells." he admitted. "Though..."

"Hmm?"

"Whatever it did to me...it showed me things I've never seen before."

Penny looked at the bottle. "Oh." She moaned to herself. "Hey, what's with all the red lights and weird noises?"

Iggy was silent for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe the Galaxy got hit by a meteor or something." She was definitely drunk.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I was...a little scared."

Iggy looked back at her and smiled. "We'll be fine for now. You should probably get some sleep."

"Okay." She scooted over and cuddled Iggy from behind as the latter immediately tensed up. "Goodnight Iggy." 

"N-night." Iggy managed to stammer, unused to such affection. He breathed and decided to settle with it before managing to close his eyes. His fears were now confirmed. There were times when he wished he never had his father's gene, yet even then...


	15. Top Tier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Larry checks in on the progress of his shelter until he receives a letter from Bowser, inviting him to his chambers. After this meeting, Larry is then invited to one of Ludwig's parties on board the Galaxy where he learns a few interesting tidbits of his older brother's plans.

After benching his last 1200 lb set, Larry Koopa sat up and wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel. He didn't know what it was, but something had told him to shape up recently. Something gnawed at him, a growing feeling of discomfort that he couldn't explain. It wasn't the Galaxy's latest battle with the Destroyer or the power being knocked out, which was restored that morning. It could be the pole shift, or it could be an event that didn't happen yet. Whatever it was, he felt like facing it head on.

Larry walked over to his computer setup. He moved his mouse to dispel his screen saver, which had his logo emblazoned over every screen: his cyan face over a black backdrop. He checked his mail and sure enough, he had 8 video messages from various people. He decided to let his transcription program run through the calls on 3 of his computer screens and transcribe anything important to him.

He then double clicked an icon on his desktop, which was a video conference interface. He pressed start and his remaining 6 screens went black for a moment. Various faces then appeared in a number of locations. They were all there today.

"Hey guys," Larry began, "I guess you heard about the ship rocking back and forth up here. We gotta get rolling on this and make sure we're ready to go as soon as possible. There's already a lot of people up here wanting to leave already. I guess I don't blame them. But that means we must move ahead of schedule. I'll go around with the same order from the last call, starting with Kooper."

A screen on the right showed Kooper somewhere within the walls of Genlic, talking with several people. It was a moment before he realized he was live. "Oh, hey Larry! The latest batch from lower Birabuto just came in, about 4,000 or so. It looks like a lot of kingdoms are sending out their folk early. I heard something happened up there on the Galaxy."

"Yeah, we had a toss up with the Destroyer." said Larry. "They're getting nervous now. How's the food supply?"

"Oh, we're near maximum now. It shouldn't be any problem feeding these guys. It's just finding a place for them all."

"If they have to, they can sleep in the halls." said Larry. "They're pretty big, anyway." He paused. "Well, it looks like I'll be down there earlier than planned. I have a lot of my stuff packed already. Hell, there's no real reason to stay up here anymore."

"I hear you. It was all smoke and mirrors to begin with. Well, let me know when you actually come down here. Have to plan the welcoming party and all that!"

"Heh, alright. Oh, did you ever get the fortress defenses working?" asked Larry.

"Well, you know that Ludwig installed some new systems...I think I told you already."

"Yeah. I was hoping it was just preliminary, because I know the fortress has natural defenses. But Ludwig never got them to work."

"Nope, and neither can we. There are several rooms here that won't open, and one of them I'm sure is related to defense."

Larry sighed. "I guess we'll make due then." He looked at his other screens. "Is there anything new to report?"

Many shook their heads. "Everything's mostly done and ready to go." said one toad. 

"Alright. Have any of you heard from Mona?"

Most shook their heads. Larry rubbed his eyes. He hadn't heard back from her since E. Gadd's presentation. He still decided to hold out some space for her, but he still wondered what was going on.

At that moment, he heard a noise come from behind him: a fast swoosh. He had gotten a letter. 

"Hold on guys." he said, and put them on pause. If someone sent a letter, it was usually important, considering that most messages could be relayed via PDA or email. He walked to his mailbox situated within a grove in a wall and pulled out a black envelope. It was addressed to himself in red ink, and the back had the red seal of Bowser.

Larry immediately grew nervous. It was not routine for Bowser to send letters to his first children, especially after his favored son was born. Hell, Bowser hardly ever talked to his first 7 about anything serious, except for Ludwig. It meant that his dad was up to something.

Larry carefully opened the envelope with his claw and pulled out a similarly colored letter. Unfolding it he found only a short sentence written in red:

"The Koopa King requests your presence immediately. K99-999."

It was not signed. However, Bowser was referred to in the 3rd person, and it made Larry wonder what was really going on. 

He sighed, and walked back over to his computer console. "I'll have to call you guys back." he said before ending the call.

* * *

With a ding, the elevator doors opened to a wide, carpeted hallway. Many pictures of Bowser's mug hung on the walls as well as on the pillars: a typical example of Bowser's extravagance.

Larry walked forward, not expecting anything good from the visit. He definitely had a plan for him, being the schemer that he was. But as he walked, he noticed chandeliers hanging above him that sprouted different colored flames. He stopped for a moment, suddenly remembering the night when he was teleported into a secret room back inside the castle alongside Bowser and Peach. It was a truth that he long knew to be evident, but that was the moment when that truth was actually incorporated into his life. It all changed after that, a weak and cowardly Koopaling was forced to grow into something that he did not quite know yet himself.  And here he was again, just like it was back then when his life completely changed. Was it going to change again?

Larry started walking again. He felt like he was walking to his doom, but just like the pole shift, he knew he needed to face it head on. Eventually, the double doors at the end drew closer until they were in front of him. With an effort, he pushed them open.

Inside, a wall of windows showed the Mushroom World in full view. Around the windows, hanging from the ceiling were various TV's showing many scenes within the Koopa Kingdom, mostly riots. But in the center of it all was a giant turtle king looking down at the planet in thought: King Bowser Koopa. He did not turn at the sound of the doors, lost in whatever he was pondering.

Larry stood still for a moment, wondering what his dad would do. But several moments passed and nothing occurred. Instead, Larry glanced at some of the broadcasts and saw that many of Junior's troops, embalmed with his emblem were trying to use brute force to stop the riots. It seemed that their numbers were steadily growing as the meteor strike had made the situation worse. The media questioned the use of Martial Law.

"I'm torn." Bowser said, not moving. "Torn with what I want and what I should do. I can only choose one. Why can't I have both?!" He growled and sighed. 

Larry remained silent.

"Junior is fine, he'll do well. He doesn't need my help anymore. None of you need my help anymore. Since you all know who the next king will be, that won't be an issue."

Larry was never a fan of family conflicts, despite the fact that his family's history was littered with them. Frankly, the empty politics had tired him out long ago. Nevertheless, he knew he had to play the game at least a little while longer.

"Well, Junior is one of my better friends so I don't have any problem with it." Larry said.

Bowser growled and turned around. "Why do you think I only asked you here, and none of your useless brothers? Junior will need your help. Keeping those peons in line will be a pain and I'm sure you know that already with your new fortress."

"Yeah, but at least they don't hate their lives."

Bowser laughed. "You see? You have what Junior needs, servants who will bow to him at a moments notice! He's only learning that now, but I think he'll be hard pressed once things get out of control. He needs someone who has a little more...experience."

"So, you're saying you're not going to be around, and you want me to help him become the next king?" asked Larry, driving the point.

"Yes, because then I wouldn't have to...worry about anything."

Larry smirked. "Pretty nice and all, though I think Ludwig wont take too kindly to that."

Bowser growled. "Of course he won't! He's too arrogant for his own self worth so naturally he'll be angry.  He would rather watch my kingdom burn into ashes just to live his vengeance than try to save it. That is why he cannot rule! He must not rule." Bowser walked back to the window, anger simmering. "I need someone who can save whatever remains. Our lineage must survive and I will not see it destroyed by some pompous idiot. Out of all of my kids, at least someone has taken it upon himself to try to survive."

Larry sighed nervously. He was not someone who liked to take sides. In truth, he didn't mind Ludwig or Junior, but for the first time he wondered which would have been a better ruler. But that made him realize something.

"Your speaking like your going to die soon." Larry remarked. "Why is that?"

In turn, Bowser himself sighed nervously and turned back toward the window. He did not respond.

"I don't think your people will give up on you that easily." continued Larry. "Despite all the coverups and corruption that has gone on, we're still the only family left with these genetics. They cannot let go of that."

"It's not that." said Bowser. "I have a choice, but both choices do not look good." He shook head in grief. "In the end, I suppose I should go for what I really want. Futile? Maybe, but I won't regret it. Junior has wanted to become king for many years, and I will give him that. Ludwig has been expecting a battle with me for many years...and I will give him that. I will get what I want, and so everyone gets what they wanted." He smiled devilishly. "That's how the wheel of fate turns, my son. You shall help Junior and make sure Ludwig doesn't overthrow his rulership."

Larry thought for a moment. "Alright."

"Good! Then I'll give you something that might help you." He snapped his finger and to the right came the shuffling of feet. Through a curtained doorway came someone Larry hadn't seen in quite a while: Kamek. He carried a long black box with no inscriptions. Larry wondered what Bowser had in mind. 

"I found this in Genlic long ago." said Bowser. "It wouldn't work when I tried to use it, so I shelved it."

"It is a high end wand." said Kamek. "It seems to be activated only by something specific."

"Yes, we went over this and we couldn't figure it out. I don't know how to activate it, but maybe you'll have a clue." said Bowser.

Kamek opened the box. Larry walked over and looked inside. Within a groove lie a long pitch black wand, shiny as if carved from glass but with no other decoration. It was rounded at the end but contained no gem, which was unlike any other wand Larry had seen. 

"Definitely not your standard..." Larry said to himself as he reached inside and picked up the wand. But as soon as he did, he felt a tenseness run up his arm and up his neck. The wand began to radiate a rainbow of colors from within the blackness. After a few moments, the blackness changed to a bright light that filled the room. He stepped back and tried to make sense out of it, but instead he saw his vision go blurry.

"This did not happen the first time, did it?" asked Kamek.

"No..." Bowser said, "...But I remember something like this a long time ago. It was...like when I first touched the Wand of the Koopas! Kamek, that wand better not be as powerful as mine!"

"Of course not, your majesty." replied Kamek. "The Wand of the Koopas is the most powerful wand of the Koopa Kingdom."

"Looks like you lucked out Larry! I wont have to be taking that wand back! Guahahaha!"

The whiteness dimmed until the wand was pitch black again, but the waves of colors remained within. Larry's vision returned, but it seemed more "alive" than it did before, more fluid. It was a high end wand alright, but he was not as experienced in magic like his other siblings and didn't know what it meant at first.

"What? Now you want to take Genlic for yourself?" Larry mocked. He had to keep his game up.

"Haha! I don't need it. I've already made my choice. The quarrels of the Kingdom I leave to you and Junior. I'm sure you can take care of your other brothers too, since that wand is far more powerful than anything they have." He started towards the curtained door. "The Koopa Kingdom will survive in some way, after all this is over. It is our duty to not let civil war tear it apart. I hope you learn to use that wand quickly, Larry. The people made need it." 

"I will. Thank you." said Larry. Bowser walked through the door, leaving Larry and Kamek behind. There was a moment of silence. 

"That wand is more powerful than it appears." Kamek said suddenly. "Legend states that it could only be held by the members of the family. That was why I was quite puzzled when Bowser couldn't activate it..."

"But the Wand of Koopa can only be used by the family too, right?" asked Larry.

"Yes, that is true." said Kamek. "And you know, that reminds me of the time when Bowser left Ludwig his wand when he fell ill years ago. When Ludwig picked up the wand, it would not activate either." Kamek scratched his chin. "I will have to do more research on this. In the meantime, I would try to learn all of your wand's abilities as soon as you can. The Koopa Kingdom falls into more turmoil by the day." Kamek closed the box and bowed.

Larry nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Larry walked through the double doors where he had first entered and heard them shut behind him. Larry stood still for several moments and closed his eyes. The wand was far more powerful than anything he had ever gotten, and for once he wished to understand how it worked. He felt like he was on a strange binge, not wholly forgetful but full of everything and always in the fluidity of the moment.  He wondered what his other siblings would think once they saw it. It was then that a yellow cloud formed in his mind's eye. Within it's tumultuous storm, he saw Bowser himself with his large silvery wand, admiring himself before a mirror in a bedroom. But then the vision suddenly shifted and he saw someone else: Iggy Koopa with a very bright wand, who was by coincidence also looking into a mirror within a bathroom of some kind. 

Larry opened his eyes. He didn't know what to make of it. Was he seeing other wands of his own caliber? If that was the case, then Larry's new wand was as powerful as the Wand of Koopa, but that couldn't have been right. It was said that no other could match it. But what about Iggy's wand? Larry had not seen it before and wondered if his brother was keeping quiet about something.

At that moment, Larry thought he felt his PDA vibrate. He pulled it out but saw that it was still and that he had no messages. He sighed, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him. But not a moment later, the PDA actually did vibrate. It was a call from Ludwig.

"Greetings," said Ludwig, "You are cordially invited to a private party hosted by yours truly, for the glamorous and voluptuous misses that also care to attend. Drinks and other consumables are provided upon order as is the attention of the muliebral sex. Do you refuse?"

* * *

It was a very large room, filled with jungle plants and palm trees. Sand made up the majority of the walkways, which were cluttered with many goers. Ludwig had evidently opted for the jungle theme to make things a bit more exotic. A hard jungle beat was playing on the turn tables, provided by DJ 9-volt and a Tiny Kong trying to have things her way. The two seemed to be arguing about something, but no one cared. The invited were too busy indulging in themselves and each other.  

Larry walked past the debauchery that had become the hidden staple of the Galaxy. There were quite a few Yoshi's which he found to be odd, considering his father was big enemies with them. That alone told Larry that this party wasn't just for Ludwig's "pompousness." He was always up to something.

Larry walked past a swimming pool and stopped next to a crowd as he saw a Koopa suddenly jump off a plank 100 feet in the air. Performing several tricks and spins as he fell, Lemmy crashed into the waves with a thunderous applause. Considering that Lemmy was almost never invited to these types of parties...

"What are you planning, bro?" Larry said to himself as he walked away from the spectacle. After hearing Bowser's words and seeing the riots happening back in the kingdom, such a party flew in the face of sanity and morality. It didn't sit well with Larry, who was intent on living through whatever might happen. Plus, his new wand was giving him a sense of urgency. 

Following his intuition, Larry walked to the back of the extravaganza and found what he was looking for. In a large hot tub was the Big Wig himself, pompously lounging himself and drinking some wine next to his sweetheart, Kylie. She noticed him right away.

"Hey look, the cute one." she cooed. "I was wondering when I'd be over this hulk."

"Hey Kylie." said Larry. 

"Ah Larry, good of you to stop by." said Ludwig, sipping his wine. "We have some attended business to discuss."

"Oh, is this important?" asked Kylie, frowning.

"Unfortunately."

"Well, you could've told me earlier." she said, standing up. "Looks like I'll have to marry someone else."

"As far as I am aware, Peach is available." Ludwig joked.  
"In your dreams." She stepped out. "But I'll think of something for...later on, you know."

"Please do. It's been an awfully long time since the last consummation." 

Kylie smiled wryly. "I'll see you." She turned and walked towards the pool, leaving Larry alone with his older brother.

"Come, join me." said Ludwig. "There's much to discuss. Would you like anything?"

Larry scrambled into the hot tub. "I guess I ought to. Don't know when I'll be able to have fancy liquor again." 

"Speaking of which, my Renault inventory is exceeding maximum capacity. Perhaps you would be willing?"

Larry laughed. "I have everything but a distillery. I'll take whatever you got, since I still have to build one of those."

"Not an issue." said Ludwig. "As always, the Lumas are ready to help with your commitments." 

"There's an idea." wondered Larry, forgetting all about them.

"Surely, it is the only way to create an empire." mused Ludwig, finishing his wine. "The current fiscal forecast and insecure economic labor base leaves a risk too great to contemplate. Besides, the inevitable war will begin shortly. The option will dry up."

Larry frowned. "You think Junior is that big an issue?"

Ludwig smirked. "He himself is not so much of an issue as is the behemoth that stands behind him, playing his strings from behind the veil. A rodent is only as useful as strings will allow, after all. His seething arrogance will be his downfall."

Arrogance, thought Larry. How ironic. 

A waitress stopped by and gave them two short glasses of Renaults before proceeding onward. The two sat in silence for a while, enjoying the bliss and the joyous atmosphere that the others created. Eventually, Ludwig made a sigh of contentment. "This shall be my last party as the true crown heir of the empire. It really is a shame."

Larry nodded. "Yeah, it's time to ditch this place. Gotta get ahead of the small movers. Are we going with the two-tail strategy we had a while back?"

"Yes, that has not changed." Ludwig responded. "Your security card now has the proper permissions. I will initiate my plan upon departure and I will leave the core of the Galaxy to you. Do what you will with it."

"I'm still surprised you're actually giving it to me." said Larry. "Are you sure you don't need it?"

"You will need it more than I," said Ludwig, "Especially as I have already constructed a much better duplicate."

"But it contains the records of everything that's occurred to this point." said Larry. "I thought--"

"I have already made duplicate copies, no need to worry. Your core has a much larger survivability rate than mine does currently, considering the impenetrability of Genlic."

Larry suddenly realized something. "Hold up. You said you made another copy. Why would you need another?"

Ludwig chuckled. "I suppose there was no avoiding it." He put his glass down and grabbed his phone from the edge of the hot tub. "At least one of my siblings should know what I've been working on." He flipped it open and pressed a few digits. Above, a large hologram appeared and Larry couldn't make out what it was at first. He guessed it had to be some sort of castle, but no stone was laid in its construction, and in place were various metallic plating and reinforcements. The whole thing vaguely looked like some type of spaceship, but it was not so obvious to the naked eye. 

"Is this your pet project?" asked Larry.

"My shelter, Ludwig Castle. It is nearly complete, only requiring the last finishing touches before it is fully operational. This project has been ongoing for the past 5 years and is one of my biggest, most carefully guarded secrets."

"That thing can fly?" asked Larry.

"Of course." Blue thrusters were seen igniting below the castle. "The new core is able to reach significant altitudes, enough to travel where it may be required. In a way, the project incorporates many elements of the Galaxy, although less luxurious and more focused on survivability."

"Huh..."

"I only show you because someone must know...in case the unthinkable occurs." The hologram disappeared and Ludwig placed his phone back next to him. "This secret cannot be made known to anyone else until the ordained time."

"What secret?" came a voice. Both Koopalings looked up and saw Lemmy standing in front of them with a curious expression.

"Ah, the future Crown Prince." said Ludwig. "We were just deliberating the mechanisms of my latest and most significant project."

"More like Clown Prince." frowned Lemmy, not wanting to have anything to do with royalty. "But wait, let me guess. You were talking about...your shelter?"

Ludwig grunted. "Looks like Larry may no longer be the emperor of eavesdropping." But Larry shook his head. That was impossible.

"Does it fly?" asked Lemmy.

Ludwig simply rubbed his eyes, which made Lemmy laugh in response. "Come on Ludwig, that's an easy one."

"Then you already know enough it seems." muttered an annoyed Ludwig.

"Maybe, but if yours is close to mine, then we might want to collab, you know?"

"Oh yeah, you missed E. Gadd's survival meeting." interrupted Larry. "I was wondering where you were."

"Due to the secrecy of my project, I was forced not to attend." said Ludwig, sipping his Renault. "Otherwise, word would reach you know who. I trust Lemmy would not--"

"Bowser hates my guts dude." said Lemmy. "He hardly talks to me anymore. I doubt he'll even ask, cause I don't plan on getting caught up in whatever game you're about to play with him."

Ludwig smirked. "If what I believe occurs, I will not have to...not directly, at least. But in any case, please fill me on what's occurred. I'm certain other individuals made their own announcements."

"Well let's see," said Larry. "I announced Genlic to the table--"

"I would be more cautious." interrupted Ludwig. "Genlic is steeped in legends beyond imaginative reckoning. It is equipped with innumerable weapons and spells, even spirits. But the lasting impression is its impenetrability and that legend is known throughout many cultures. That alone will create a large following and you should be prepared in case any...problems should arise."

"So, you're saying I should'nt play all my cards at once?" asked Larry. 

Ludwig shrugged. "You could say that."

"I didn't, but mine's an icicle. No one cares about it." said Lemmy.

"I will correctly guess that your shelter is located within the northern latitudes," said Ludwig, "Which explains the lack of interest."

"Hey, how did you know?" asked Lemmy.

"Please Lemmy, that was quite an easy guess."

"Well anyways," continued Larry, "Iggy announced his survival site as well."

"Did he?" Ludwig perked up, far more interested. "Did he disclose his location?"

"We don't know where it is." said Lemmy. "He just showed us a huge dig site in the middle of a desert somewhere."

"He's working with...who is it...Oh! Penny Crygor." Larry added.

Ludwig softly chucked to himself. "It seems as though genetics will work against his wishes. How unfortunate."

"Tell me about it." muttered Larry.

"Wait, what?" said Lemmy, confused.

"You were not informed of Ignatius's map of our family's genetic code?" asked Ludwig. 

Lemmy simply shook his head.

"Quite an interesting study. Supposedly, there is a gene present within the family line that creates an unusual attraction of females of other species, notably human. He theorized that the gene was introduced sometime in the past, perhaps during the bronze kings when the legend of the white skin was present. In any event, the gene completely modifies the typical attraction of the opposite sex and replaces it with a mostly human attraction. Fortunately, the gene itself is relatively rare and does not frequently occur within the line. The most famous carrier is of course Bowser. Why else would he endlessly lust after that damsel, besides the greater material benefit one could reap from that relationship?"

"I guess that makes sense..."

"This is what I was referring to originally." said Ludwig. "As aside from Bowser, the other notable carriers of the gene are Ignatius and Lawrence. As this mapping was conducted before the birth of Junior it is unknown if he is a carrier, but considering the circumstances..."

"I never really cared about humans anyway." shrugged Lemmy. "I always wondered what dad saw in her."

"I am thankful not to inherit that deformity, otherwise that would've been a tragedy indeed." said Ludwig.

"Thanks." muttered Larry. 

"My apologizes. In return, Peach will be available this evening for our disposal if your person is interested."

"Nah." said Larry. "For some reason, I don't like the idea of fucking a hole that my dad's been in."

Lemmy shuddered. "Ick, I was never a fan of that stuff. I'll skip off then..." He turned and walked back towards the pool. 

Ludwig snorted. "Prudent as always. He will likely never have another chance."

"Who cares." Larry said, sipping his Renault. "His choice. If he wanted, he'd have 100 damsels surrounding him by now."

"I only require one." remarked Ludwig. "Only a displeased king requires that amount."

"But how many do you want?" came the voice of Kylie, who walked up to him. "Cause you have fun with plenty of them."

Ludwig laughed. "Now Kylie, you know my persona well. I don't seriously dabble in that pettiness." Ludwig got up. "Only for the festivities."

"Yeah, sure. I almost fucked one of your brothers the last time." She eyed Larry. "Why? Because you set an example."

"Not my intention." grinned Ludwig. "They became...preoccupied by my predisposition, which is hardly my fault. Are you seriously suggesting--"

"No..." sighed Kylie. "But I'm going to start slapping these ho's pretty soon."

"Please do. Not only will they love it, but you'll remind me what's really important."

"Not them?" she suggested. Larry burst out laughing. "I think I'll get going." he said, getting up. "I have to get back to my pad and do a few things."

"Of course. Thank you for attending." said Ludwig. "And I do very much wish you luck in your future endeavors."

"Yeah, you too." The couple made their way to an elevator on the far right wall, leaving Larry in thought. He decided not to reveal his new wand, out of fear it might have back-lashed against Ludwig for some reason. He was a trusted confidante and his upcoming responsibilities could not be replaced by anyone else. Despite the strange powers it gave him, he needed to keep marching forward. With that in mind, Larry walked out of the party and to his living quarters to check in on Genlic.

* * *

The door closed behind him. It was a large spacious room filled with modernized pillars and curvy architecture, his own statement on what had to move forward. The stars of the perpetual night cast fractal shadows down onto the floor. Not too bright, but never too dark."Now there's a Koopa I feel sorry for." he muttered, smirking.

"Why's that?" asked Kylie, walking to the dresser.

"His acquired prestige will bring him more than his fair share." said Ludwig. "Or rather, he will see the world's outcry upon his doorstep and will be forced to deal with that situation. Still, he is more than equipped for the task."

"Oh definitely." said Kylie. "He's got that spunk I know too well. Plus, he's nicer than you."

"Not a difficult feat to accomplish." remarked Ludwig. He walked to a small bar next to him and poured himself a shot. Before he took it, he suddenly remembered something. "Ah yes, I must call Ignatius." he said to himself, taking out his PDA.

Kylie looked at him. "This pole shift business is pretty serious, isn't it?"

"Only because someone as extravagant as myself is host to an innumerable amount of responsibilities." replied Ludwig. "To be expected from a crown heir, stated or no. The shift merely accelerates the situation by throwing the problems of an angered populace onto my shoulders, as you've seen by my recent trip to water land."

"That place is full of haters." said Kylie. "They all love your sis and...well, no one else actually."

"Her propaganda campaign has worked out quite well for her." said Ludwig. "Though doubtless it matters no longer." He got out his phone. "In any event, I must learn what exactly Ignatius has built."

"I'll go relieve myself..." she said before disappearing into the bathroom. Ludwig dialed Iggy's number and pressed send. He was eager to hear of his brother's plans, though was rather doubtful of the climate of his location. Clearly, it had something worthy of value. 

But Iggy never picked up. His voice mail came up instead and Ludwig promptly hung up at the sound of it. Iggy's phone was now in range, unlike a few hours before when it wasn't even connected to the network. That puzzled Ludwig, as his custom wireless was wide enough to encompass not only the Galaxy, but the entire circumference of the Mushroom World as well. The only places he could think of that could block his signal was Genlic or somewhere deep underground. Although, considering that he was working at an archeological site...

A pair of arms wrapped around his stomach, interrupting his thoughts. "Your brothers are fine." she said quietly. "Stop worrying about them. We only have so long to enjoy ourselves before it's over, right?"

Ludwig sighed. "You're right. It could all end right now, and all our plans would've come to naught." He turned around and looked at her. "I would rather indulge myself in the moment..." They embraced and kissed. As their tongues swirled around each other, he pushed her backwards before both stumbled onto the bed behind them. Kylie moaned as she felt her lovers hands caressing down her body. 

"...is it still too early?" she asked softly. 

"If you don't want any fun, then it's never too early."

"But what if something happens to you?" she put her finger on his chest. "You have a lot to lose. Who'll take care of the family?"

"The family takes care of itself. What does concern me is the inevitability of your term hampering your agility and physique because those abilities will be increasingly called for as the environment disintegrates."

Kylie was silent. She had not thought of that.

"Would I rather see the love of my life perish with her stillborn which would be an unbearable tragedy, or see myself perish and yet see you live? To me, the choice is obvious." He smiled. "I understand you are eager, but we must be patient a little while longer. Also, I understand that the emotive tendencies of one in labor tend to be more...sensitive."

Kylie huffed in defeat. "You're right, all I can do is tease you." Her feet were already rubbing up and down his shaft. Ludwig grinned, he had always liked it when Kylie did this. But he was known for his self control, and there was no way Kylie was going to make him cum that early. 

He pushed forward through her feet and placed his throbbing member in her wet spot. Kylie whimpered at his gigantic size: the royal family was known to be well endowed and today was no different. Soon she was whining loudly as he thrust in and out of her sex. Ludwig once again remembered the day he studied female anatomy and was extremely grateful for doing so.

It didn't take long for Ludwig to feel his semen starting to work its way up. He slowed on impulse, her tightness nearly making him come. He pulled out to paint his load on her face, but she whined and squirmed.

"I want more!!" Kylie demanded. "Put it back..."

Smirking, Ludwig rubbed the head of his member with her sex, making her whine even more. 

"Put it back." she whispered. 

Finally, he obliged and quickly pounded her. She cried out, his thick member penetrating deep inside her. But because Ludwig pounded her so fast, he felt like he would climax any second. Before he did,  he suddenly pulled out of her and stuck his member inside her other hole.

"AHHHH fuuuck youuuuuu....mmmmmmmm...." Ludwig had given her some surprise buttsex and she should have expected it. He loved her tight cavity and couldn't get enough of it. He moved slow, savoring each thrust. 

"Ahhhh.....You ruined it..." she said, frowning.

"How so? If one is to raise children, this is precisely what you will be feeling." 

She laughed. "Shut up." They kissed and he began to thrust a little harder. Kylie's screams were a lot louder and Ludwig took the opportunity to play with her nipples. But she grabbed his arm in response, making him go faster until he knew he couldn't take much more of it. With one final thrust, he pulled out and squirted all over her face, painting it with his sticky sperm.

"I had just orgasmed and what do you do? You put it in my butt." she said. 

"Would it be better if I denied you that orgasm the next time?" asked Ludwig.

She shook her head and smiled. Knowing Ludwig, that's exactly what he would do next time. "You're a bastard sometimes...but that's why I love you." She gave him a long slow kiss and they both enjoyed that seemingly endless moment together. The room fell silent and the stars beamed down overhead.

Eventually, Ludwig broke the kiss. "Best to wash yourself, my love. I shall do what needs to be done in the meantime."

"Okay." Kylie got up and entered the bathroom as Ludwig watched her go off. He was glad, as she would make a fine queen. He had only wished that they were living during more pristine times and not the actual apocalypse. But upon deeper thought, when civilization crumbles in the face of annihilation, the only thing that really matters are your loved ones and Ludwig knew this as a truth. Maybe it was because of it that their bond was far stronger than he had ever imagined it to be. Her eagerness for a family was but one example, something that would have to wait. Ludwig smiled, grateful for what he had.

He got up from the bed and walked over to his desk, which had a number of books and open journals filled with various things. He sat down, grabbed a piece of gold-lined paper along with a pen and began to write. As long as it was going to be, he knew he had to finish it before Kylie got out of the shower.


	16. Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iggy contemplates his new found abilities before having a chat with Larry. During their conversation, something occurs which drives everyone to chaos.

As he watched Ludwig and Kylie fall asleep in each others arms, he contemplated the meaning of relationship. What did it mean to love? Certainly, the disasters and the looming spectre of the end had brought him to this question once again, something he had always avoided. He was never one to understand feelings, let alone the feelings of others. But now, for some reason the issue was front and center. Why?

An incessant beeping interrupted his thoughts. Considering all that was going on, it might have been a blessing in disguise. At length, Iggy opened his eyes, sitting upon a large leather chair. The familiar sight of his laboratory came to view, filled with electronics, beakers with various liquids and numerous computer consoles laying about. In front of him was the wand, standing upright within a closed glass cylinder. Various sensors spun around it, spewing out multiple colors of lasers in an attempt to understand the device. Behind this on the far back wall were three very large screens showing the current data analysis in real time. 

One of the analysis segments of his experiment had completed. Iggy looked at one of the computer consoles, which on its screen showed a completed message inside a terminal console. Suddenly, the message disappeared and a batch of commands executed through terminal. Iggy had "sent" the command. The screens on the back wall updated the analysis with the newly retrieved information. The right screen showed the full electromagnetic spectrum and the range of light waves that the wand emitted. The middle screen showed how the wand synchronized time around itself, which Iggy theorized had something to do with his ability to see past events, as with Ludwig and Kylie. The wand was displayed on screen within a spinning vortex of an endless variety of threads, which came from outside the screen and wrapped itself around the device. Various computers tried to keep up with the threads, which Iggy had deduced were actual threads of time. The updated information was now beginning to suggest actual time periods.

"Not surprised." he muttered to himself. He had seen it already, but it was also a great burden for him. Focusing on reality was a great challenge, but was something he was gradually gaining the upper hand in. And it wasn't just because of the challenges the wand continuously presented him: he had gained only a few hours of sleep that night, too curious to analyze the powers of the wand. He wondered how long he could stay awake. He blinked as he continued to look at the screens in front of him.

The left screen showed a register of particles that the wand had collected over the centuries. The updated analysis sensed a detection of neural and DNA particles within the wand. To Iggy's mind, it was more likely that his skin particles had been detected, or perhaps some fingerprints from past holders on the wand. Still, he was curious. His eyes darting across several computer screens, he sent commands to analyze the various types of DNA that were present on the wand. The lasers spinning around the wand itself changed to an indigo-like color and spun a little faster. Iggy sighed and drank some coconut water with a slice of tangerine next to him. If there was one thing that hadn't changed, it was his taste in strange drinks. 

The left screen then displayed  a handful of locations where the DNA particles were present. A few names were arrowed, including Iggy's and a list of a few kings that once held it as well. Iggy was hardly surprised and took another sip of his drink, but stopped when he suddenly saw the list skyrocket. The number of different DNA strands suddenly shot up over 100 types, then 1,000, then 100,000 and then well over a million. The screen listed the names that each individual DNA particle was carried by, but the space become so cluttered by the sheer number of them that they were unreadable and became a mess of overlapping letters.

Iggy just sat there, glass in his lap, not sure what to think now. His analysis clearly listed the actual names of each body that the DNA had been present in. With the list over 5 million now, Iggy realized that somehow, the wand takes samples from every being it comes into range with. He didn't know what that range was, but it was obviously significant. He also did not quite understand the purpose of it. Why would you need a database such as this? A DNA memory bank of his race? Iggy didn't know. Maybe it had something to do with past visions?

More beeping. Several unknown particles had been discovered, displayed on screen. One of them seemed to emit a type of radiation: light waves, the light that seemed to be ever present around the wand. Iggy sent a trace command to terminal. The analysis seemed to indicate that these particles were not inherent to the wand during its construction, as they themselves rotated around it. Yet it was not  DNA or neural particles. Then, what was it?

Iggy saw that they were organized with the DNA and that they accumulated over time. Getting an idea, he got up from his seat and stopped the rotating sensors. Opening the closed glass cylinder, he placed his hand upon the wand and immediately the readings on the screen changed. An influx of the "light" particles were shown flowing in and out of Iggy. They were from the body alright, but that still didn't explain what they were.  Did they have something to do with emotions? Spirit?

His middle screen showed an incoming thread from the future about to manifest itself. In his minds eye, he saw Larry calling him from a bar. A moment later, Iggy's phone rang and he could only smile to himself. "I'll be down." he thought as he took the wand back into his possession.

* * *

He never picked up. "So much for a drinking buddy." muttered Larry. He wanted to discuss his new wand with him, since there was no denying it now. If Larry could see him, then--

"I'll be right down." he suddenly heard. Larry turned around but saw no one around him. It was vivid and clear, but louder than what his imagination could conjure up. Iggy's voicemail suddenly kicked in.

"Hi, this is Iggy Koopa. I'm busy, so--"

Larry killed the call. Given his previous drunken escapades, he wasn't sure if that was his mind playing tricks with him or not. But considering that he had only one drink thus far, he decided it could be possible with Iggy's new wand.

In any event, he sat down and ordered his usual bourbon. His own wand had been giving him some strange visions and he wasn't sure about them. He hoped Iggy could help clear that up. He also wondered how the alcohol would affect them, silently wishing that it'd be able to wash his visions away somehow with its magical spell, but his logic knew better. This was not some bad relationship, this was something he had to be responsible with. And yet, he was already missing his normal life. 

After some length, Iggy entered the bar. He sat on the stool next to Larry and ordered a simple beer.

"What's the good news?" asked Larry.

Iggy thought to himself. He took a few chugs of his beer then looked at him. "We both have really cool wands."

"Yeah wehey, how'd you know?" Larry asked, though suspecting the answer.

"I saw it when you revealed yourself." Iggy said. "They all communicate with each other. Well, when they have an owner."

"Oh." Both went into an awkward silence. Larry stared out the window towards Mushroom World lost in thought. Iggy glanced at the TV's overhead. Coverage over the riots and the so-called economic recession were on full blast now. One group had tried to protest near the castle itself, but they were literally dragged away by the castle guards. Evidently, it wasn't just the Koopa Kingdom feeling the setbacks. Pictures of the Mushroom Kingdom showed lines of Mushroom people waiting to fill out a job. Diamond City's harbors were being flooded, even though there hadn't been any rain in the vicinity for at least a week. Many of the Yoshi Islands had simply disappeared over the past few weeks. 

And yet as the camera panned over the greater Koopa City showing most citizens too occupied within their own little lives to care about the protests surrounding them, Iggy remembered Mario's words from his initiation. Little folk were called that for a reason. Little imaginations and little minds perform little things. Give the mind something too big to comprehend and it'll be too much for them. True or false,  it'll deny something like the Destroyer since a mind that small cannot possibly see it within its limited perception. Sometimes, ignorance is truly bliss.

"It kinda sucks." Larry murmured. "Having these wands...you're never the same."

"In a way." said Iggy. "But you have to keep in mind that very few out there are that intelligent enough to use them, let alone figure out what's going on."

"That's a part of dad's program." said Larry. "Trust me Iggy, I've been looking through his programs for years. You won't believe some of the shit he pulls off. There's his whole food additive pro--"

"I know the basics." interrupted Iggy. "It's a part of my job to help wake up the species now."

"Oh? The wand told you that?"

"Well, sort of. It's more like intuition. It leads me on and I figure the rest out myself." He chugged his beer. "I already had some...interesting experiences, heh. Just a blur to most people, but it must be if they're all drugged up on all that brainwashing, right?"

"Yeah." said Larry. "Reality is probably like a dream for them. At least they hope so." 

"It's another thread in time, one of many." said Iggy. "You could say this is the waking dream but...I don't want you to get lost in it."

"Don't worry, I'm losing myself out of choice." laughed Larry, taking another sip of his bourbon. "My wand is pretty tricky to handle man. You know I'm not a full time magic user like you."

Iggy nodded.

"And now I'm being forced to use it. I don't even know what's it's supposed to do, other than it's tied to Genlic somehow. It just makes my vision feel...fluid. I've also been seeing weird things in my head."

"Hm?"

"I'm kind of ruling out my imagination now cause it keeps happening," continued Larry, "But I see the whole family in my head, constantly, all the time. What they're doing, where they're going. It's been hard trying to find myself again, you know? I was hoping alcohol would help stop all of that."

"Alcohol has no direct effect on magic unless the spell being used has to do with sensory perception." said Iggy. "It definitely has no effect on my visions and it sounds like my wand is harder to control than yours."

"You're a genius though." commented Larry.

"It also seems to have a different purpose from the other two."

Larry snapped his finger, remembering his previous vision. "Yes, that's right! I saw two other wands in a vision I had: one was yours and the other was the Wand of Koopa. I was wondering if my wand was as powerful as Dad's simply because I can see it, but I have no idea. I didn't even know you had a wand that powerful either."

Iggy sighed. Knowing that Larry held the black wand, he had no other choice.

"Do you remember the legend of the wands?" asked Iggy.

"What, the wand of kings and the wand of sages? Yeah, I read about that in school. Wand of kings went to the Koopa King, wand of sages went to the Grand Magikoopa."

"Right. Well, it was said that the wand of sages resided in a great black fortress."

Larry thought for a moment before it hit him. "Damn! You're saying this is it?! Why the hell would he give this to me? I'm not even good at magic! Kamek is the Grand Magikoopa, right?"

"That he is." Iggy went silent for a moment before continuing. "But the legend goes deeper than that. The legend that's taught now is what survived the dark ages, but there is an older variant."

"Oh?"

"I found it on one of my...adventures. Do you remember the gods?"

Larry thought for a moment. "Vaguely. They made us, right?"

"Yeah. Well, they had some kind of wand system set up when they occupied Mushroom World. It was made up of not two, but three wands and these three wands controlled how we evolved as a race. Each wand performed a different function to keep our race in line so to speak."

"Wait a minute." said Larry. "If I have the wand of sages and Bowser has the wand of kings, then--"

But Larry was cut off as Iggy protruded from his shell the top of his wand, it's radiance glowing upon the surprised face of Larry before it disappeared as quickly as it came. 

"Yeah..." Iggy muttered. "I have the wand of spirit."

"That's its name?" asked Larry.

"Err, I got that from a vision I saw, a vision from the far past. I'm not sure if it's the real name, but I've heard it several times. I've also been hearing many things about a trio of kings, but I'm not sure what that means yet."

"Ughh.." Larry drank the rest of his glass. "I don't want to rule dad's shithole."

"I don't think it works like that." said Iggy, his claws on his chin. "The kings I'm seeing are performing different roles in Koopa society but what those exactly are I'm not quite sure yet."

"...You can see the past?" Larry asked.

"Yeah. I can also read people's thoughts." Iggy rubbed his eyes and sighed. "It's difficult."

"Wow, that would suck..." murmured Larry. "...but I did hear you say something about coming down here in my head. I almost thought it was me playing games with myself."

"That was real," said Iggy, "And I'm glad you heard it. Makes me feel a lot more confident about this whole thing."

"I bet. At least your wand 'speaks' to you. Mine doesn't really say anything."

"You might find some clues at Genlic if you look hard enough." suggested Iggy. That also reminded him of something. He pulled out a square mechanical contraption that looked a bit like a step pyramid. Pressing a button brought it to life. After stretching a pair of feet in both directions, it lifted itself up and turned on a set of lights which displayed a complex hologram of what appeared to be a dig site alongside a floating menu of buttons. Iggy pressed these, changing the display repeatedly as he tried to find something.

"So, is that it?" asked Larry, peering over.

"A part of it. Most of it is underground. Penny and I found an ancient bunker underneath the Temple of Inauro. Figures, huh? She's moving the entire hydroponic complex down there, up on the higher levels. The lower levels are designed to channel any inflow of water between the wall and the floor. Apparently, they hid in rooms above this drainage system." He pressed a few more buttons. "Okay, looks like she finished it."

"A lot easier working with other people, isn't it?" remarked Larry.

"Say that to our brothers." said Iggy, finishing the rest of his beer.

"Yeah, well you know how it is. Wendy's too much of a bitch to even consider her lifestyle burning up in front of her. Morton's...he just doesn't seem to care. I think he likes his luxury too much to let go of it. I tried talking him into the whole shelter thing, he was pretty passive about it. He did say he had something lined up in the Koopa Crags but that's all he told me. God only knows what Roy's up to."

"Holing up in there isn't a very good idea..."

"Hey, did I say Morton was smart?" asked Larry. 

"No, but that's idiotic. That's an active volcano chain that's going to explode once the shift happens. Plus, that whole mountain range will be growing taller and I wouldn't to be living under that...well, unless I were Morton."

"See?"

"He should still get talked out of it." suggested Iggy. "Hell, Lemmy's idea is better than his. That reminds me, I need to check out his new place." But Iggy's brain told him to call him tomorrow. He was too tired.

"He found some spacecraft or-" Suddenly, the bar went pitch black. All the lights had gone out simultaneously. All the chatter ceased for a moment, before erupting into a huge noise. 

"--something.." said Larry, looking around. 

The window in front of the two Koopalings brought whatever light the Mushroom World had to offer, and with it they made out a growing number of heads behind themselves beginning to panic. Many had already left their chairs and were making their way out of the bar. 

Iggy stared out of the window at his planet in front of him. Seeing it slowly tilting in place, he sighed and stood up from his stool. Larry followed the movements of his older brother and did likewise.

"Well, this is it." Iggy remarked. 

Larry nodded. "Yeah. It was a fun ride."

Before Larry even finished, strange noises began to travel through the outer hull. Loud clangs came with small rumbles, which was enough for everyone else to flee the immediate vicinity. Everything was knocked over in their path as they flooded into the main hallways of the Galaxy.

But Iggy smiled. "Long live our bloodline, little brother. I wish you luck." He extended a claw and Larry hesitated, but he clasped it and shook hands. Not a moment too soon as a major crack opened up on the far right wall, sucking out much of the air and pulling much of the furniture towards it. Iggy and Larry bolted out of the room before an airlock sealed the room shut.

They made their way into a large throng of people, which amidst the shouts and the clatter were trying to reach their ships to escape the carnage. Trying to weed his way through the sea of people, Iggy looked around and saw that he had lost Larry somewhere in the mess. He took out his PDA and tried to see who he could call, until he saw a blinking word in the upper right hand corner.

"Offline." he muttered. The Galaxy's PDA network was already down and he suddenly realized how convenient it really was. Without it, he had to rely on his normal phone, which he wasn't sure would work. He got it out and looked at his contact list, but he couldn't pick up any service. Iggy frowned. He had no idea how he would contact his brothers again, let alone telling Penny what was happening now. He was on his own.

A ripple of noise rang through the hull above him, cracking many windows which made the crowd go hysteric and flood out of the room into any hallways they could find. Many of the ramps on the upper levels rattled until they came loose and broke off of their supports, slamming onto the ones below them, creating a domino effect until they reached ground level. Iggy looked at the crowd and back at the display. He had an idea.

Grabbing his wand, he ran for the fallen walkways before jumping on top of the lowest one. Walking up them like a set of stairs he ran for the 5th level, narrowly avoiding a girder that flew at him. He saw a stairwell ahead that could bring him to his destination, the 7th level where his rooms resided. 

He ran past the cracked window but the station shuddered again. The window behind him burst into pieces and the sudden air pressure nearly halted him in his tracks. Using his wand, he thought for a moment and defied gravity, lifting up into the air. Fighting against the outflow, he flew through the door and up the stairwell to the 7th floor. It was just in time: the stairwell began to squeeze together as he flew out of the other side. Back on his fleet, he saw that he was in a damaged horizontal elevator shaft, lined with innumerable doors of residence. A red stamp on the wall bore the location: K-71. Having some ways to go, Iggy ran down the shaft and, using his wand again, ran much faster than he could physically able. Soon he reached a vertical shaft, in which he wasted no time flying up it, dodging falling debris left and right. A loud crash was suddenly heard above and large chunks of glass came streaming down. Iggy lifted his wand and froze them in place as he ascended. He saw that an elevator car was now blocking the shaft and ultimately, his floor. Seeing that the elevator was moving towards the back wall also made him uneasy. "Give me a break." he muttered.

Upon reaching floor K-78, Iggy flipped his wrist and the wand hurled the glass in the other direction. Turning right, Iggy flew down the shaft looking for some kind of entrance to the floor above. Eventually his luck prevailed; spotting a manhole, he easily blew it open with a blast of energy and finally reached floor K-79.

It was heavily damaged, with piles of debris littering the track and electrical wires shooting sparks in all directions, probably the cause of a few small fires in some places. Iggy landed upon his feet and scrambled over the hazards, while at the same time trying to determine where K79-772 was. He was apparently not far off, only about 10 rooms down. The rumbling began to get more violent and more debris started to fall from the ceiling. Deciding that flight was too risky, Iggy instead jumped from one pile to the next as quick as he could. 

However, when he was about 2 rooms away, Iggy came across a gigantic pile that blocked the entire shaft: it appeared the ceiling itself had caved in from the upper floor. Iggy's heart sank. He had to think of something quick, and getting through such an obstacle quickly was not easy. He inhaled as his imagination ran wild, and knew he had to give it a shot.

Pointing his wand out in front of him, he closed his eyes ad let his mind's eye guide his direction. Through it, he saw the tip of the wand growing brighter and brighter, and felt his hand get more and more uncomfortable. A bright hot flame grew, and as Iggy approached the rubble he saw that it either melted or was pushed out of the way like a paperweight. Like a hot knife through butter, Iggy walked through the rubble, and when it surrounded him on all sides, raised the wand above his head. As he walked forward, the rubble itself scurried away and yet behind him it closed his newly carved path again as if nothing had happened. 

Iggy suddenly reached a pair of two steel girders blocking his way. Iggy grew desperate again, now he was in the thick of it and he could not move his wand unless he wanted a pile of debris to fall on top of him. Iggy knew that breathing fire would take too long to melt it. He needed another plan.

Another rumble nearly made him stumble, and he accidentally pointed the wand at an angle which allowed some debris to fall on him. But that was when his idea took hold. Ever so slowly, he moved his wand towards the front of him, allowing more debris to pile up around his shell. Soon, only his neck was free, but that didn't matter. Closing his eyes, he concentrated upon the glowing hot sphere in front of him, which soon began to envelope his entire being. Within a glowing ball of hot fire, Iggy increased the heat intensity until his arm was literally shaking from all the power. Finally, thinking that he had enough energy, Iggy gave a cry and suddenly he launched forward through the girders, melting them instantly and through his front door at blinding speeds before slamming into a pile of rubble in his foyer.

Iggy groaned, his muscles already tired from a lack of sleep. But he had to keep going; he got himself back on his feet and managed to stagger into the living room. But he was dismayed to find that much of his room was damaged: a steel girder had fallen from the ceiling and had smashed his holographic television among other things and many of the walls had blown out. It wasn't until he saw one of the cabinets that he nearly freaked out. There, tucked under a table was most of his computer collection, now smashed and totally destroyed. The table had fallen under considerable weight and had crushed what lay underneath. Iggy cringed and shook his head. Not now.

Thinking, he looked for any sort of computer and made a sigh of relief as he saw one of his best laptops, a solar array, sitting on the kitchen counter unscratched. He grabbed a laptop bag next to his damaged computers and placed the laptop inside and turned to leave, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw something black and pink not too far by. Penny left her laptop behind when she went out. He grabbed and bagged that as well, flung the bag over his shoulder and walked out of the room into his laboratory. The room he was in no more than an hour ago was now a total mess, with broken glass all over the floor, tables overturned and the airlocks covering the windows on the far wall. Fortunately, he had saved his results from earlier onto his massive computer network, which updated itself on every computer he owned. 

Passing through the room, Iggy entered the observatory where he had made a dock for his new ship earlier. Unfortunately he came at a bad time. Much to his horror he saw the giant telescope rocking back and forth until a large shudder ripped it from its bolts. Iggy thought about running under it, but wasn't fast enough as the telescope came crashing through the wall next to him and onto the floor. 

Iggy inhaled and exhaled. Another obstacle. He backed up and knew he had to do something he hadn't done since the Mario days. He started running towards it, but then used his wand to jump very high into the air. He narrowly missed some hanging debris before barely managing to land on his two feet and continuing his drive towards his exit. Through another door and there it was. Dantek's ship was still in one piece and Iggy wasted no time boarding the vessel. Tossing the laptop bag onto the sofa as the door closed, he ran to the cockpit and immediately pushed the drawer containing the crystal into the system. Just like before, the ship powered to life and displayed a series of holograms in ancient. One of them was the Mushroom World, shown tilting in place. Another hologram seemed to show the Galaxy, newly scanned and identified as being torn apart from all sides. An identifier showed his current position. "Yeah, I'm working on it..." Iggy muttered and he grabbed the wheel and thrust it forward. The ship lifted off and effortlessly blasted out of the docking bay into space. 

Iggy breathed a sigh of relief, glad that was over. He didn't expect the Galaxy to crumble so soon and was thankful that the most important provisions were already set up at his survival site. He would just need to work on the finishing touches upon the surface. 

He glanced out the window and saw the destruction of the Galaxy in full view. Almost all of the 6 columns attached to the central hull had detached and all had suffered severe damage. The whole complex seemed to be slowly moving towards Mushroom World with an uncountable number of ships ahead of it fleeing the titanic morass, like bees escaping a crumbling honeypot. Explosions rocked one of the columns which brought Iggy back to reality. He needed to find a way to land without blowing up in the process.

A warning siren shot from the console, and large interwoven lines surrounding the pictured globe showed Iggy that he was being pulled in. He quickly tried to bring up some type of map of the world's surface to hopefully triangulate his landing zone and establish a trajectory, but he was moving too quickly. He only managed to find the coordinates of the Koopahari desert when he entered the upper levels of the atmosphere. The ship attempted to correct course, but Iggy was forced to turn this way and that as he tried to avoid the falling debris of the Galaxy. He passed by many ships, which looked more like seering fireballs about to strike the surface. He even came across a large chunk of one of the columns and Iggy narrowly sped past it before it hit him. That was going to leave a mark on the surface, and Iggy chuckled at the thought.

As he entered a thick cloud layer, the debris suddenly disappeared and Iggy was left alone for some time. Looking at his current route, he saw he was somewhere over the southern Yoshi isles and moving west-north-west. Iggy pinpointed the location of the temple of Inauro and easily re-coordinated his trajectory. He was lucky for heading in generally the right direction in the first place.

The clouds vanished and coincidentally, the ship's radar siren-ed. 4 ships were detected heading towards him from the south-west and were on a near collision course. Iggy pulled up and the 4 flew by underneath him. None of the ships seemed to be operational; no thrusters fired behind them which confused Iggy. But one of the ships further caught his eye: by it's obvious designs, it was a vessel from the Koopa Kingdom. He watched as it suddenly slammed into one of the other ships, making it fly off towards the north. Peering into one of the windows, he was startled to find his father, King Bowser Koopa staring right back at him. It wasn't before long that Iggy put the pieces of the situation together. It was just like him. His siblings often joked about it due to its futility, though at the end of the world where so many things were rendered futile...

But as soon as they came, the ships were lost behind him in a veil of cloud. Given the chances, Iggy wondered if he'd ever--

The ship violently shuddered, which broke Iggy's thoughts. Looking down, he was shocked to see the holographs having disappeared and the lights gone dead. None of the controls worked. When the ship started to free fall, that's when it hit him.

An Electromagnetic Pulse.

"Oh shit..." He tried to think of something. He pulled out the ignition crystal drawer which still glowed and pushed it back inside, but nothing happened. The endless expanse of the desert appeared below him, stretching in all directions. But the dig site was nowhere to be seen. 

Iggy pulled out his wand and tried to think of a miracle he could pull off. He thought about levitating the ship, but nothing happened. Was that beyond his capabilities? He then thought about re-firing the engines, but a moment later the ship crash landed and Iggy's consciousness went black.

"One day, you might retrieve it." said a voice.

* * *

Larry slammed into the wall and winced as pain shot through his arm. His perspective refocused on his family, which he couldn't see clearly in his mind any longer. He could think of all the possibilities, but the noise and the flashing red lights wouldn't let him. He had to keep going.

The hallway had tilted to the right and Larry struggled with his footing as he walked upwards on the outer edge between the wall and the floor. Upon reaching the door at the end of the hall, Larry pulled out his upgraded security card and reached down to swipe it across the security sensor. The door slid back and Larry saw the control room had also tilted to the right amidst the cries of operators and helmsmen. With the floor slanted Larry struggled to get inside, using his arms to push himself through the doorway and onto the back wall. He tried to find something to grab onto that could make him reach the commander's chair but as he did so, the room began to right itself into a more or less normal position.

"Pitch and roll re-stabilized, but it can't hold much longer!"

Larry walked up to the seat and sat down on it. He wondered if taking this offer from Ludwig was really such a good idea.

"Keep it there as long as you can." said Larry. This prompted most of the operators to look back at him with surprised expressions. "Oh, right. I'm commander of the Galaxy now until we land...or until we all die. Whichever."

He was met with silence. Larry looked at the main screen, with was filled with a large number of cams overlooking parts of the Galaxy. Many areas looked damaged and abandoned, other areas had bodies all about. One showed a large collection of ships that had launched from one of the escape bays. The cameras outside of the Galaxy showed the Mushroom World was much closer now and steadily growing in size. 

"I take it we're being drawn into the atmosphere." Larry frowned.

"Correct sir." said a Monty Mole. "We will hit the upper layers in 10 minutes."

Larry held his head in his hand and tapped his fingers, trying to come up with a battle plan. But the unpredictability of the inevitable breakup left him with few choices. He knew the control room could detach from the central hull, but that would leave the rest of the Galaxy completely uncontrolled. Each column had the potential to be piloted on its own, but there was no guarantee of that happening especially if they were damaged already.

As he tried to come up with a strategy, he noticed a blue blur pass by on one of the screens. Looking at it, he saw King Bowser on a dock, getting ready to board his ship and rapidly talking to his minions. Suddenly, Ludwig appeared on the other side of the dock and prepared to board his ship before Bowser shouted something at him. Ludwig said something back and the two went into an argument before they both stopped and stared at each other for a long while. Finally, Bowser gave up and boarded his ship, which promptly took off moments later. Ludwig however held back, and looked around for some time. It was only when the dock itself began to crack that be quickly jumped onto his ship and blasted off himself.

Larry shook his head. He shouldn't be wasting his time. 

"Okay, give me the quick run down." he said. "What's happening, besides the obvious?"

"Power is out in all sectors. Emergency power activated in a handful, including this sector." said a Buzzy Beetle. "Airlocks have activated. The citizens were moving towards the escape pod bays, successful launches unknown. The asylum did not gain emergency power and multiple breaches  have been recorded. We still have access to most of the Galaxy's cameras due to their wireless functionality."

"Yeah." said Larry. "Do we know if any of the secondary command centers are active?"

"Scanning..." said the Buzzy Beetle and a few moments passed. Multiple screens came up of similar looking control rooms, some filled with Toads or other creatures while others were simply empty. It seemed the Mario and Daisy sectors were taking control of themselves. The Kongs looked frantic about something as they jumped up and down at their stations. But the other 3 sections (Wario, Yoshi and Koopa) were all empty. 

"Wario column cannot access the control room due to multiple door jams in hallway 22B." said the Buzzy Beetle. "Most of the Yoshi column has emergency power, but it is unknown why they have not taken command. The Koopa column is the most severely damaged with no emergency power in any sector. The main power line to the central hub was cut."

"Then it's a deadweight." said Larry. "That one goes first." He only hoped his siblings had already made it out of there. 

"You have a plan, sir?" asked a Piranha Plant.

"Yes. As we enter the atmosphere, we drop them off one by one. If we stay together, it'll leave a huge mess where ever this thing lands. It's better to spread out and leave tinier craters on the surface, rather than have something as big as this end a small kingdom overnight."

"But sir!" said a Koopa Troopa. "Would that not break the cover of the Destroyer? Isn't it better to just land in one piece?"

Larry smiled. They were starting to get it. "Landing in one piece has us at a bad chance of surviving." he replied. "Not mentioning whatever we land on will be vaporized along with a good chunk of this hull. It's better to do this in pieces, I'm afraid."

"But...!"

"It was going to happen eventually. I think we all know that." 

The Koopa Troopa fell silent and went back to work. Larry tapped his fingers and looked around the room. With his new wand, his authority could no longer be tested so easily. He knew know that even if Bowser disagreed with him, he'd be hard pressed to make him change his decision. Not that he could in any event. 

Then, there was a loud slam and the hull shook. "We have entered the upper levels of the atmosphere." said the Monty Mole.

"On screen." said Larry. The cameras disappeared, giving way to the wide expanse of clouds that drew ever closer. The hull began to glow a deep red as the complex descended towards the planet, producing large smoke contrails in its wake. Vessels originally trying to escape the demise suddenly found themselves scurrying themselves out of the behemoth's path.

In the control room, the hull continued to shake with jolts becoming more and more violent.

"Multiple electrical fires have broken out on K83 to K98! It is spreading throughout the column!"

"Dump it!" shouted Larry and a moment later, a large "clunk" was heard before the column drifted away from the complex. Larry watched as fiery explosions rocked through many of its windows and chunks of its hull ripped away from its descent before it was lost in a thick layer of clouds. 

"This is going to get ugly..." Larry muttered to himself. 

"Fires reported on D12 and D86!"

"A major section of hull has ripped open from P16 to P36! Flying debris is threatening other sectors!"

"The Kong's are requesting to be detached from the Galaxy!"

"Current heading!" shouted Larry.

"Heading north-north-east, we are above the northeastern Yoshi Isles!"

"Alright, dump the Kong and Yoshi columns." Two clanks were heard and the Kong column, identified with the large DK symbol floated away to the left. Larry saw secondary thrusters fire up and knew they still had control of the craft. The Yoshi column, being located in the back simply dropped straight down with no control. 

"We're headed in that direction...adjust the course to Genlic, if you can."

"Roger!"

"The fires are spreading to the other columns! Daisy's column is in danger of being engulfed!"

"Cameras 5 through 15 are offline!"

"One third of Mario's column is ablaze!"

"Sir! We are at risk of electrical fire if it spreads to the control room!"

Indeed, Larry saw Daisy's column engulfed in flames. It was a wonder that most of her hull was still intact. Even then, that fire had spread to many of the other columns including Mario's column, whose bottom half was rocking with explosions. The fire on Peach's column was working its way to the control room.

"Sir! We must detach the columns NOW!!"

"Bring the other control rooms onscreen again." ordered Larry. The remaining rooms were displayed. Evidently, the Wario control center was now occupied by none other than Wario himself, who was trying to detach himself from the Galaxy. All of the other columns' controls rooms were abandoned save Mario's, whose Toad's struggled to keep the fires away from them. Peach's room was ablaze.

"Hey doofus! Let this thing go, will ya?" Wario semi-politely asked.

"I was going to say good luck in the end and all that," said Larry, "But since most already bailed out of this, or was fried to a crisp..." He brought up a numerical keypad on his armrest and pressed a number of them in sequence before something else flipped around on the other armrest: two large buttons, one red and one yellow. "...I was just going to say 'Have a good life.'" he finished, chuckling.

"Hey, wait a minute! You're Larry, arn't ya?" asked Wario.

"...and?"

"Heh heh. You are only lucky son of a bitch, you know that?" said Wario before his screen went to static.

"Yeah...I am." Larry said to himself before pushing the red button. Instantly, all of the columns detached from the central control room and went in random directions as Larry passed over the Eastern Mushroom Sea. The room's thrusters fired and guided the craft on a rough trajectory towards Genlic, whose tall black spires could be seen reaching into the thick black clouds that surrounded it.

"All columns detached! Current touchdown estimated to be 10.6 miles from Genlic."

At that moment, several things happened. The power suddenly went out through the room, with only the front screen visible. The operators went frantic, but before Larry could say anything a sharp pain riddled through his skull. He winced, wondering if it was the alcohol he had earlier. But when the pain returned double-fold he clutched his head in near agony, befuddled and confused as to what was going on. His vision blurred and he did not see the ship pass through the final cloud layer and see the rocky wasteland of Genlic below.

"Cannot restore power!"

"What just happened?"

"10 seconds to impact!"

"All hands!" Larry managed to say and all the operators either moved from their seats or braced themselves for the collision. The Buzzy Beetle popped back into its shell, Piranha Plant went back into its pipe and the Monty Mole hid underneath his chair as other operators did similar. Taking one last look at the screen, Larry popped into his shell upon his seat.

Mere moments later, the central command center of the Galaxy collided with the ground like a meteor, unleashing a massive plume of dust and rock in all directions.


	17. Inheritance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Galaxy now destroyed, all begins to unravel for the original participants as they begin their long brewed preparations.

Hurried footsteps echoed through the hall. Panting heavily, he pushed open one set of doors after another, too anxious about his message to care for anything else. Ignoring the endless stares he barged forward until one pair of doors led him to his destination: the throne room. From the eastern passage he appeared and stared at the scene, not fully comprehending the impact of events around him. Still his duty remained. He marched up to a Koopaling sporting a growing red mane and curved horns that gave the illusion of maturity. The Koopaling had grown much taller than he last saw him, now towering above the advisers of war and intelligence that surrounded him. The soldier gave the alternate procedure and saluted.

"Your majesty!" barked the Koopa Troopa. "19 airships have appeared outside the Koopa Krags to the southwest. They are advancing northeast towards our position."

Bowser Koopa Jr. broke off his conversation and glared down at the soldier in annoyance. It was the last thing he needed, to have one of his relatives meddle in his affairs. The Koopatrols surrounding him murmured to themselves.

"That would put that armed mob in a pincer." said one. "They may stop their attacks on us."

Another snorted. "Nothing will stop them. The secret is out, it's everywhere. You think they're gonna lay down because we tell them to? That air fleet spells an all out war, friendly or not."

"Obviously." Junior muttered, and looked at the soldier again. "Did you spot the flag of the idiot who thinks he stands a chance against me?"

"The flag that was spotted was black with a purple indention--"

"Ts." Junior rolled his eyes and walked back towards the throne. "Of course it's him. Why did I bother to ask?" Junior turned and with a wave of his hand, the soldier spun on his heel and marched out of the room. "Give Roy my intentions." he said. "If he's not here to kill those useless eaters down there, then he can mind his own business." One of the Koopatrols nodded and spoke into his receiver. "Also, prepare my fleet. It's time to show the Kingdom their next king."

"Yes, your majesty."

Smiling, Junior walked across the hall to a pair of double doors. He could hear their muffled cries before pushing them aside. The air was filled with their voices, demanding the truth to the world. Why were meteor's falling from the sky? How did a half vaporized sink fall from the sky into an apartment complex? Why was there a communications satellite spotted floating off the coast? And most importantly, why was the weather so messed up?

In truth, Junior did not have all of those answers, but he knew some things. His father had hidden something big from him, the leaders of the world had hidden something big up in the sky. What it was he did not know, but he knew that none of his brothers told him about it, and that infuriated him. It just confirmed his long standing belief that he would never become one of them. But Bowser had practically turned him into the next king, so why did that matter now? If they didn't bow to his majesty, then he would take care of them, despite the short work they would become.

Despite that, Junior felt that Bowser installing him with new powers, then leaving at such short notice was a little suspicious. It was another invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom, sure. Junior had been through plenty of those, but how was this any different? More importantly, why wasn't he invited along? The kingdom could easily--

A large blast interrupted his thoughts. Looking down from his perch, he saw the mob throwing bob-omb's over the outer castle walls with the guards running a muck, dodging the blasts. Many were trying to cut through the gates with graters and other welding equipment. Junior shook his head. He needed to take care of what was in front of him first. 

"They want a war, they got one." muttered Junior.

"Sir?" A Koopatrol said behind him. Junior turned. The air was increasingly abuzz with the sound of many propellers, a sign that the airships had launched. 

"Has Roy responded?" asked Junior, already knowing what he would say.

"He has not, sir." said the Koopatrol.

"Well, if he decides to help me, he can. Respond to those useless eaters down there with brute force. We're not getting taken down this early."

"Y-yes sir."

* * *

"All units report to the south block!"

"Charge Bullet Bill cannons as required. Move to appropriate stations..."

With hurried footsteps, soldiers flooded out of the castle and onto the castle battlements. Stone windows flipped back, revealing the barrels of Bullet Bill cannons. Numerous airships had already launched from hidden places and surrounded the castle. But the display only served to fuel hatred of the commoners below, with tens of thousands in uproar over their plight, demanding a solution. Many began throwing bob-ombs over the castle walls, shouting for Bowser. 

A few miles away, down closer to the ocean was a long line of airships watching the spectacle from a distance. Aboard one of them was Junior's determined and unfazed target, sitting on a chair overlooking the spectacle. To Roy, it was clear he wasn't going to negotiate. Despite the fact that Bowser himself could show up at any second, Junior insisted he had the god given right to do what he pleased. 

"I'll knock some sense in 'em." he said to himself, though knowing the mob wouldn't make that easy. They knew what was going on now, as word had gotten out from multiple sources, not to mention the debris that still burned in the skies across the world. When the people bring the fight to themselves, things always got messy. Ignoring Junior's ultimatum, Roy instead waited for Junior's reaction. Would he actually turn against all of the Koopalings?

"Airships detected ahead of port!" said a bob-omb admiral. "Bowser's fleet has ascended!"

Roy raised an eyebrow. No one was allowed to do that, not even Junior himself. "You sure he ain't here?" he asked.

"Bowser has not returned contact." said the bob-omb. "We have received Bowser Junior's warning, but nothing else."

Roy grunted. Junior was being a little brat. He was not keen on following someone younger than him, let alone someone trying to play the part of King. As far as Roy was concerned, Junior was just keeping his daddy's seat warm until he came back. Still, even Roy was wise enough not to attack Bowser's fleet outright especially at this point in the game. 

"Sir, we have confirmation! Junior has opened fire on the mob!"

Sure enough, from the fleet surrounding the castle, cannons had begun to fire around the outer castle perimeter where parts of the mob had tried to breach the wall. Roy was silent. It was something he would've done under normal circumstances, but with the fall of the Galaxy, the game had changed. 

"You know what to do." muttered Roy.

* * *

Several miles away on top of a ruined building was a dark skinned Koopaling, watching two fleets of airships exchange cannon fire. Morton knew his brother was playing right into that brat's hand. With king dad's militia, there was no way a single Koopaling could overpower Junior at the moment. But what worried Morton more were the subtle changes Junior had gone through since he had last seen him. His red mane was a bit longer and he seemed a little more...ruthless.

"Daddy's not picking up..." he heard Wendy say, walking up behind him. 

"Yeah, I can't call anybody either." said Morton. "The Galaxy must have smashed some of the satellites when we crashed."

"That's still no reason for Junior to act like an asshole. 'Oh look, daddy's gone! I get to play king and you don't!'" exclaimed Wendy.

"That's exactly it. There's something going on here." said Morton. "He knows well that if he tried to pull this off, we'd be on his tail in no time. And here he is."

"He's just taking advantage of us, you know." explained Wendy. "We're like, all over the place now and he thinks he can get away with whatever his tiny little mind can think up. Well, excuse me but I didn't hear dad's death knell yet. Did you?"

"He's alive somewhere." said Morton. "You know how he is. I wouldn't be surprised if he deliberately crashed into the Mushroom Kingdom."

"I wouldn't put it past him." sighed Wendy. "That means..." With Junior now in second in command, he would've known that already. There really wasn't a better time for him to take a shot at the throne, was there? Making up her mind, she turned and walked down the steps which she came.

"Where are you going?" asked Morton.

"To Water Land." she said. "Don't worry, I'll end this quickly."

"That's exactly what he wants, you know." said Morton.

"Hah! That runt has no idea what he just walked into." she said, walking down the steps before turning around a corner and disappearing.

Morton sighed. The last thing he wanted was for all of them in one place. While he was not one for strategy, he at least knew that Junior wanted to crush them all in one spot. They needed to spread out their attacks.

There was a rumble. Morton turned and saw several skyscrapers being fired upon by Junior's fleet, the buildings leaning and collapsing down upon other buildings in their wake. He had heard rumors about citizens arming themselves, but if it were true then things were getting serious. They would doubtlessly sway to Roy now.

Morton took out his military shortwave from his pocket.

"Admiral Cadaver, this is Admiral Brown. The dog has lept for the fish. I repeat, the dog has lept for the fish, over."

"kzzzzzt...roger Admiral Brown. Do we use the whistle? Please advise, over."

"Negative, Admiral. We throw him a stick against the eastern wind, and we watch what he does, over."

"kzzzt...roger. We have your coordinates and will pick you up for Sunday school, over."

"Pick me up a McKoopa while you're at it, over and out." Snickering, Morton put his shortwave away and wondered if they'd have the time for it, let alone anyone working there at this point. But the roaring of a tank came much sooner than expected to Morton's ears and he frowned. It was a while since he had something to eat.

The tank, camouflaged, drove up alongside the ruined building before halting. The hatch opened and a Koopa Troopa emerged, saluting the Koopaling. But his eyes widened as Morton had jumped from the building and soared downwards before violently landing on the tank, nearly throwing the backside upwards.

"To the eastern flank." said Morton. "And we'll stop to get a McKoopa while we're at it."

"Y-yes, sir." said the soldier. He then moved to allow Morton to enter the tank before the hatch shut. The tank roared off, being joined by many other tanks that had suddenly appeared behind other buildings as they made their way northward.

* * *

A snow storm howled in the sky as a plane prepared to touch down upon an icy runway, which led into an enormous megalithic structure in the distance, seemingly built from large and plain rectangular stones. The landing gear extended from the hull, large spiked wheels suitable for such an environment. Touching down, the craft easily maneuvered across the turf as large gray stone doors pulled back, revealing an underground aircraft hangar. A large crew of Koopa Troopas guided the craft into a bay before the aircraft came to a stop in a bay. Some cocked the wheels, others activated mechanics to hold the plane in place. But finally, the door to the plane opened and a walkway extended to the balcony. Out strutted Lemmy Koopa in a fur jacket and eyes half closed, exhausted after what had occurred. Unfortunately for him, he was almost immediately surrounded by a multitude of people telling him many different things at once. He sighed wearily to himself. If only he hadn't marathoned Dog Pirates Season 7 before all of this occurred...

"Your majesty, something major happened in the atmosphere!"

"Yeah." Lemmy muttered. Just keep walking forward...

"Welcome back, your majesty. Our mushroom supply has doubled from the citizen influx, however our syrup supplies are running thin."

"We'll fix it, don't worry about it." responded Lemmy.

"Your majesty! Are you aware of your brother's actions in the Koopa Kingdom?"

"Of Junior?" asked Lemmy. "Yeah, he thinks he's king all the time. It's nothing unusual."

"But what of his attack against Prince Roy? Surely this is not a declaration, is it?" That was a first.

"I'll see what's going on up there." said Lemmy, pointing up. "But it doesn't sound good."

"Neither are the news feeds, your majesty! The official Koopa News Network has broadcasted something about "The Galaxy," an international space station that has existed unknown to the rest of the world for several years is what's crashing down upon the planet."

Lemmy gave him a look as he continued on towards the elevator.

"Junior claims that hiding such a secret from us is unfathomable! Is any of that true, sire? Is King Bowser trying to hide something from us?"

Lemmy sighed. "Bowser is hiding something like he always is, but let's deal with the tabloids later, okay? There's a lot of other stuff we gotta do." He finally reached the elevator, where he pushed the call button.

"Sir, there have been no recorded incidences of earthquakes for our area. But we are still monitoring the Koopa Crags on our southern border, which have shown signs of increasing activity."

"Okay." muttered Lemmy. The elevator doors opened and Lemmy entered as the others tried to squeeze inside with him, though many were left in the hallway by the time the doors closed complaining to themselves. Lemmy pressed the button for the top floor and the elevator shot upwards.

"Your majesty, we have not detected any radio signals from King Bowser in the last several days."

Lemmy hummed. "Weird. But...that does explain Juniors temper, doesn't it?" He smirked.

"Perhaps your majesty, but isn't it peculiar that your brothers have also been more absent in the past several weeks?"

Lemmy ignored him as the elevator doors opened to the command room, which was covered in ice. Even the long table and chairs there were made of ice. Lemmy walked to his seat.

"Sir! May I suggest that your brothers know something that we do not?"

"Why is this "Galaxy" breaking up above us? Perhaps it has something to do with the planetary disturbances we have seen recently?"

Lemmy sat down.

"Sir, half of the Diamond City harbor has been flooded recently. We have reports of a steady migration of people northwards."

"Our Mushroom Kingdom trade route is currently being threatened by bandits, your majesty."

"Just what was that meteor storm?"

"Hey," said Lemmy, "Can someone make me a hot cider please?" Everyone stopped talking and looked at each other. 

"I will!" chimed a purple toad with dreadlocks, who turned a corner and disappeared.

"Okay, and bring up the map too." A holographic globe was displayed, hovering over the center of the room. Large portions of the Koopa Kingdom were displayed in red. From what Lemmy saw, Roy had approached Bowser's Castle from the south, the most heavily defended area. Lemmy wasn't sure what Roy had in mind. But it didn't matter in any event.

"Your majesty, we have reports that Morton has started to siege the eastern flank of the castle!" said a Toad.

His contact network hadn't been ratted out yet, there was some good news. But still, it didn't matter. Lemmy sipped a bit of his hot cider before looking across the room in thought.

"I made a promise to myself a while ago," he said. "to not get involved in sibling rivalries. It's a waste of time and a lot of other things, and it accomplishes nothing. I mean yeah, I may be the weakest Koopaling, but it saved me so many times beyond count that I don't see why I should jump into this."

"Sir, pardon me...but this is no rivalry." said a Paratroopa. "This is clearly a fight for the throne. There has been no contact with Bowser for days now, and it seems 3 of his children are already after it."

"I never wanted to be king anyways, remember?" exclaimed Lemmy. "Why should I fight for something I don't care about?"

There was silence.

"And what about Ludwig? If this is a fight for the throne, he should be around somewhere."

"We have received no intelligence of his location in the past few days, either." said the Toad. 

Lemmy hummed. That was a problem. It was usually Ludwig who sorted these situations out before anyone got hurt, especially with Junior's temper. But if this was a...no, Ludwig would take the situation seriously. He wouldn't move all his pieces at once. That meant it was a free-for-all.

On the globe, the southwestern coast of the Koopa Kingdom suddenly grew red.

"A large fleet has appeared off the coast! The flag indicates it is the fleet of Wendy O. Koopa!"

"So this is the real thing." Lemmy said to himself. 

"Junior's fleet has left the castle! We have a video feed." Next to the globe came a feed of what appeared to be Bowser's personal mother ship exiting the castle. Pitch black and lined with triple rows of cannons on its broadsides, it was a formidable adversary. 

"But...where is Bowser?" Lemmy asked aloud.

"Sir?"

"No one can pilot Bowser's ship. Something stinks here." Junior could not pilot that thing unless he was king. But if that was the case, then why wasn't there an announcement about it? That meant either Junior is staging a coup or Bowser was...in either case, it was still wrong. He was going to have to do it.

Lemmy stood up from his seat. "At least this once...I will play my part. It's the right thing to do. I have a plan too, but I know a lot of you wont like it."

"We stand by you until the end, Prince Lemmy!" said the Paratroopa. He saluted, which prompted all the officers in the room to do the same. 

"I hope so." said a rather doubtful Lemmy. "Because if you look at Bowser's Castle here, the southern flank is getting hit by Roy and the eastern flank is being bombed by Morton."

"Bombs?" exclaimed a bob-omb.

"Yeah, Morton loves bombs so that's probably what he's doing." explained Lemmy. "Anyway, that leaves the western flank which is not far from the Koopa Crags that are always erupting. This means we must attack the northern flank."

"How is that so bad?" asked the Toad, but the Paratroopa glared at him. "In fact, it sounds like a really good idea. Junior wont expect that." 

"Because the Crags separate us from the rest of the Koopa Kingdom entirely, well...except for one path through them: the Valley of the Koopas."

More than a few faces looked shocked at the sound of that place. "That place is evil." said a Koopa Troopa. "Pure evil. We should not go there unless we absolutely have to."

"While this is the best way to take the castle, I suggest thinking about what you're getting into, your majesty." said the Paratroopa. "The old kings of the Koopa Kingdom are buried in that valley, but the terror there does not sleep with them. Whole armies have entered and never returned. They are consumed and become the walking dead, joining the ranks of their dead masters. Even in death, the kings still wield their power."

"Are you talking about Boo's?" asked the Toad. "They can be tricky, but they are avoidable."

"These are no Boo's." responded the Paratroopa. "You become a ghost of yourself, under the power of the king that consumed you with no will of your own. No one has been able to destroy them, although there have been 2 people who did make it through that valley."

"One of them is my dad." said Lemmy.

"From what I---wait, really?" asked a surprised Paratroopa.

"You know how he got through?" asked the bob-omb.

"Well, he did leave his...diary here." Lemmy presented it and chuckled. "I guess he was a kid when he wrote this, since everything is all signed as 'Prince Bowser,' but yeah, he talks about what he did. Let's just say that we'll get through there as long as I use it, on the ground or in the air."

No one said anything as Lemmy put the diary away. "We'll take the castle and make sure Junior can't return to it. He has to be out in the open if we want to win this."

"Pardon me your majesty, but I never took you for a strategist." said a Koopa Troopa.

Lemmy smiled at him as he headed towards the elevator. "I can use my head when I have to, but I'd rather have fun with my friends, well...when I have time that is." Pressing the call button, the doors opened and the group once again got inside before the doors closed. Lemmy pressed the button for the barracks and the elevator shot downwards.

"I'll radio all of you when I am airborne, and then we will set out."

"Sir, how does this em...surprise of yours work?" asked the Paratroopa. 

"It works in the air and it does something down below...but that's all I'm saying!" said Lemmy. The elevator stopped and the doors opened, with everyone stepping out, turning and saluting. Lemmy saluted back to them and smiled as the doors closed.

Finally alone, Lemmy held three buttons at the same time, which revealed a number pad underneath. He punched in a number combination and hit enter, sending the elevator shooting downwards. Once the level indicator went below B11, the lights suddenly switched off and were replaced by a dim red. About a minute passed before the doors opened to a dimly lit hallway lined with ancient writing. He casually stepped out and walked through the hall. If there was one thing he regretted, it was not getting Iggy to come down and look at what he found. He was certain this was not in recorded history, nevermind the textbooks. Then again, after seeing his dad's childhood journal, Lemmy thought better of it. Until he could see what this thing could do, it was probably better to keep this to himself. 

He reached a large bolted security door. With a retina and fingerprint scanner the door unbolted and slid aside. Lemmy entered the room, and as the lights came on, they showed that it was far more than a room, but an ancient hangar bay. The floor dropped to an unknown depth, while above, floating in mid air was a strangely shaped spacecraft shrouded in shadow. From what could be seen, it was a sleek and rounded craft plated in gold with silver highlights and intricate designs. 

Lemmy took out the diary again and flipped to a bookmark as he walked up a ramp leading to the ship. His dad's handwriting seemed to be terrible in his younger years and very rushed, and some places were hard to understand as they seemed to be more key phrases for himself. But evidently, before he could have become the next Koopa King, Bowser was ousted by an uncle of his while under the care of Kamek. He had been teleported to the north pole to starve to death before he found the megalithic ruin that had no name.

Lemmy walked inside the ship, and took a right to an area with luxurious couches. Flipping the page, he came across the drawing he had last seen: of a strange wand, said to be made of solid copper with a large diamond on its end. And the glow that emitted in front of him seemed to confirm it: inside a holder of some kind was a large copper wand, with a pairs of diamonds entwining around the wand until they reached the top, forming a circle of them on the outer rim.  In the center was a massive diamond that was softly glowing and the rest of the wand was carved with intricate writings, which he could not read. But Lemmy wasn't sure why it glowed on his approach, and he had never seen a wand act in such a way. But from what his father had written, The Wand of Koopa as it was called was able to vanquish the undead within its proximity. 

"And that's how he became King again..." Lemmy murmured to himself, but he suddenly laughed. "This is so ironic." Placing the diary back in his pocket, he reached for the wand.

* * *

He stopped walking. He felt something powerful, and it disappeared quickly. Was it from the ongoing battle back at the castle? Junior seemed to be making quick piecemeal of his other brothers and sister. No, it wasn't shock or abhorrence. It was desire, of prediction. It could have been Ludwig, considering his plan was to unfold shortly. Bowser invading the Mushroom Kingdom? Lemmy with his top secret battle plan? Or Iggy...? 

Where the hell was Iggy?

"Hey Larry!" someone called. He snapped out of it and returned to reality. Standing on a beaten rocky path, Larry stood before Eternal Fortress Genlic, the towering black menace that helped shroud the moving vehicles and workers running this way and that making the final preparations. Strangely, the sky had cleared on his arrival and the sun shone brightly down upon him.

"Larry!" called the voice again. Larry turned and saw Kooper run up next to him. Wearing a noisy headset and fiddling with a clipboard full of papers, Kooper certainly had his hands full at the moment.

"Yes, the rest of that mushroom harvest has to go inside the 22nd storehouse." said Kooper. "Have Dalley take care of it." He sighed. "So damn busy! Anyway, we moved the Galaxy Core into the...well, what could be called the weapons room."

Larry started walking again. "The room that had a ton of Ludwig's stuff in it, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one. We haven't started hooking it up yet."

"Don't bother." replied Larry. "We need more hands setting up the defensive lines. Whatever the backlash is going to be, we have to be prepared for it."

"You think it's going to be that bad?" asked Kooper.

"The Kingdom is in a civil war right now. People will start migrating out, so we have to expect them coming from the north in swarms. That area is little defended and we really need something over there."

"Alright, I'll get some hands--"

"Larry! Larry!!" came a cry. A Monty Mole had driven up next to him. 

"Yes?"

"We just pulled up another pod that crashed a few miles from here. My boss says it's important."

Larry and Kooper looked at each other. Larry nodded before climbing into the jeep, which quickly drove off to the northeast towards the coast. It did not take long before they reached it. It was badly damaged and reeking with smoke, with signs that a fire had already occurred. 

As soon as they pulled up, Larry felt a bad feeling grow in his gut. He climbed out and looked at the elderly Monty Mole, who simply bowed his head and refused to say a word. The look on his face told Larry everything. His breath grew heavy and he felt some doom hanging over him. But he told himself that he had made peace with the end. 

He looked back at the pod and slowly walked towards it. It smelled horrid, a mixture of burning rubber and petroleum with a few other things. Reaching the door he hesitated, before grabbing the handle, slowly turning it and flung the door open. 

A large plume of smoke immediately escaped and nothing could be seen at first. Larry's eyes adjusted to the darkness until he saw something laying close by. It took his mind a moment to register, but it was unmistakeable: a small arm of bone, with the remains of a dark fabric that dropped to the elbow.

Larry shut the door immediately and stood still for a long while. The Monty Moles looked at each other before the elder simply shook his head. He knew who it was, but could only wonder what Larry was going through.

Larry turned his head toward Genlic. The sounds of hammers and wheels. Of carts and chisels. And the sound of silence that encompassed it all...the sweetest sound never heard. Never heard.

The moles looked surprised when Larry suddenly chuckled to himself. He turned and with slow trudging footsteps, walked back towards the Moles. Without a word, he made a motion with his arm for them to follow him. Following orders, the trio walked back to the jeep and the younger Monty Mole climbed up to the drivers seat. Suddenly, Larry whisked around and, with wand in hand shot a large fiery fireball at the wrecked craft. It exploded in a monstrous flame that caught the eye of many workers nearby, who stopped and watched the flames roar into the sky. 

"W-what are you doing?" asked the shocked Mole. But Larry merely grinned as he shot fireball after fireball at the wreck. He then held up his wand, which glowed a bright white, then unleashed a large flame that engulfed what was left.

"She wanted to be cremated when she died." Larry said suddenly. "I am doing the honors." When the flame finally ceased, nothing notable that was left could be seen. Larry, panting, simply stared at the sight, a past of his that he was just forced to bury. He did made peace to himself about this. But reality had hit him then. This was going to be worse than he thought.

He put his wand away and tried to calm himself down before quietly climbing back into the jeep. Without a word, they drove back to Genlic and dropped off Larry at the front gate. He merely waved as they drove off.

Larry stared at the gate of Genlic. Ashley was dead. She was someone he did at least care for, but he wondered how deep his feelings really went for her. That outburst was a little more than just caring. And something else was now over him, some doom he couldn't explain. His feet felt heavy and knew there was something he should do, but did not know where to go.

After staring at the gate for some time, he finally forced himself to walk through it past moving caravans and hoards of people. Most didn't even look at him; indeed, few ever learned of the true master of Genlic, other than the fact that he was a Koopa. His position was only known in the higher circles. 

He diverted from the main hallway and walked over to a crevasse in a wall in the shape of a semicircle. Upon entering he floated upwards many floors quickly before stopping at a floor much higher than a few moments ago. He walked and looked at the many levels across from him: jeeps were driving cargo through the halls, which were large enough to support such vehicles. Most of the cargo was food and seeds, but also blankets and other bedroom items. Some seemed to be having trouble at the far end with greenhouse supplies as they tried to lift steel girders onto a higher level, since they wouldn't fit into the anti-gravity crevasses. It was, as he put it, an "organized madhouse."

But at that moment he didn't care too much. He could look at people scurrying back and forth all day, preparing for the worst. But if they weren't mentally prepared for it, would it even matter? He was reminded that many of the losses wouldn't come from physical death, but from insanity and he had to prepare for that. If vital hands went rouge, unable to deal with all the devastation, he needed people to fill in their shoes. The leaders, the pushers themselves had to be of sound mind to make sound judgments. While some of it could be determined early on, much of it could only be done when disaster would strike, which was in the moment.

He saw someone in the corner of his eye looking at him. Larry turned, but the person was gone. He wondered who it was, but in any event it snapped him back to reality and made him remember his destination: the throne room. 

He walked and floated up several more levels until the familiar sight of the throne room was in view. The long table and chairs was where he had left them, and so was the throne in the back. He needed time to think of his situation, and also the situation of the Koopa Kingdom and of the war that raged there, despite the fact that Bowser was still alive.

Just then, the doors to the throne room slammed shut. Larry looked around but there was no one else in the vicinity. He pulled out his wand and thought of a way to open them again before something glowed beneath his feet. It was a pair of violet eyes that made up the face of a circular seal that he was standing on. 

"Okay, and just what--" he never finished as the whole floor rumbled and moved upwards of what seemed like an endless shaft of nothing. But Larry looked behind him and saw the great view of the desert of Genlic to the south, dropping further and further beneath his feet. In the distance he discerned a large group of people heading northwards towards his location, no more than an hour away. They were probably refugees. Looking up he saw the sky had darkened considerably since he stepped through the gate, with clouds covering most of the sky. 

The floor stopped moving with a thud. 

"I cannot get past these doors." said a familiar voice. Larry felt a shiver down his shell, but forced himself to turn around. There she was, the goddess of death, returned in Boo form floating above the floor with the same pale face that he knew.

"H-hi, Ashley..." Larry started, a little freaked at the display.

"The spirits won't let me pass." she continued. "They say only the King of the Blood may enter."

Larry suddenly remembered what Iggy had told him of the 3 kings, moments before the Galaxy began to break up. He breathed in and knew that his doom was near. But what about Ashley? She was here for a reason. At length, Larry straightened himself out.

"Why did you come back?" asked Larry.

Ashley looked down. "I have many things to tell you...but that must wait. You must go now." She pointed at what first appeared to be a part of the wall, but Larry realized the design was in the shape of two black flower petals overlapping one another. 

Larry looked at Ashley, but she was gone. "I will see you again." he said to himself. Her spirit was somehow residing in Genlic, and so were others. Ludwig had told him nothing about this. Maybe it was because he didn't have the wand at the time? That could explain the fluctuating weather as well.

With more questions than answers, Larry stepped forward to the doors. Like petals, they brushed back against the walls, revealing a strange room. Walking inside, he looked at the massive black orb above him that moved most of the ceiling, surrounded by a golden artistic holder of some kind, perhaps as a support. Colors swirled about inside, not unlike his own wand. Below this was a smaller orb that rested upon a pedestal jutting from the floor, but it was dark. The walls were open to the now cloudy skies, guarded by many sets of decorated pillars. Otherwise, the room resembled the rest of Genlic: a smooth and black glassy substance that covered everything. He almost didn't hear the "doors" fold back in to place behind him, but by the time he noticed the doors were closed.

"Welcome, King of the Blood." said a voice.

"Your presence was expected." said another. Above, Larry saw the colors in the larger globe materialize and take the form of a Boo before flowing around again. There seemed to be many of them.

"We have saved the spirit of your friend before it departed this plane." said one.

"Such a loss would be too inconvenient at this time." said another.

"What is this?" asked Larry. They seemed to talk in different voices.

"We are the consciousness of the last kings of the blood, at your service." they replied in unison.

"...what?" 

"We have seen great tyrants rise and many incompetents fall."

"We hope we can guide you towards your destiny."

"With the wand returned from the masters of the family, the race may finally return to its full potential."

"...what? Isn't that Bowser and Kamek?" asked Larry.

"Kamek's deed is noteworthy, but his actions against the Koopa race cannot be forgotten."

"Now that the wand is free from the Magikoopa Council, the King of the Blood shall arise again."

"It has been over 300 years since the last king arose."

"Since then, the world has tumbled into imbalance."

"Yes, the King of the Earth has wielded his power without any regard to the sacred balance. The energies of materiality are in overabundance."

"Your initiation will help correct this disaster."

"And the world will become young as it once was."

"Waitwait a minute. You guys are going too fast." sighed Larry. "I heard something about 3 kings before I came here, but I know nothing about them."

"You do not know the legend of the three kings?" 

"Such is the grip of materiality, Prava. The bliss of ignorance."

"We shall impart the tale onto you. Behold!" The black globe shifted, and a birds eye view of the Mushroom world could be seen, centered over the Mushroom kingdom.

"The Koopa's were once not as evil as they are now."

"Evil is a byproduct of an overabundance of energy in one direction."

"This is what has happened to the Kings of the Earth."

"But in the beginning, this was not so."

The globe showed an overlay of three circles grouped into the shape of a triangle. It was a very ancient symbol, but it's original meaning had been lost ages ago. 

"In the beginning was the forefather of your family, Koopa, descendant of the royalty of Naru. His inbreeding with the slave race that inhabited this planet caused consequences with his Naru overlords, who demanded they be controlled for fear of rebellion from their homeworld of the same name."

"The Destroyer." muttered Larry.

"Koopa created three wands in line of his master's demands. One controlling the people as a civilization in its policy, territory and governance: The Wand of the Earth. One controlling the purity of the bloodline of Koopa through the ages and head of the royal family upon this world: The Wand of the Blood. One guiding the soul's evolution up the pathways of light to become a greater race than their masters: The Wand of the Spirit."

"Each wand was originally entrusted into the care of a certain consciousness across various points on the planet."

"But as you can imagine, The Wand of the Spirit would eventually cause trouble for the Naru in time."

"That was the intent of Koopa, to make the race he had help spawn into something greater than the Naru themselves. And during one age when the Naru returned to collect the mineral they need to survive with, they found that their slave race had evolved far faster than they had anticipated."

"This was the time of Dantek, the last King of the Spirit. He intended to surpass his masters. However, due to the acts of the other two kings, a war was raged and his race had lost. They became hopelessly enslaved and the Wand of the Spirit was taken from him and was locked inside the Temple of Koopa upon Naru."

"The spawn of Koopa were reduced to slaves, even savages with no hope of escape. Dantek was allowed to live and made a plea to the heavens of their plight."

"The star spirits answered on the eve of the pole shift. Not only were the Naru wiped clean from the surface, but they were never allowed to walk the surface of this planet again."

"So through the ages past, the succeeding Kings of the Earth and Blood ruled and attempted to maintain a balance upon all."

"But with the loss of the Wand of the Spirit, spiritual evolution could not be achieved."

"As a result, the race has gone through never ending cycles of growth and destruction, often times at the onset of religion that proclaimed to know everything."

"Which was of course the evil of spirituality, as you might guess at this point."

"Okay, that's a lot to take in." Larry breathed. "So the Koopa's are considered evil because they're missing two of the wands...this includes Bowser, right?"

"Yes. The Magikoopa Council rose to prominence when Bowser was a child."

"They used the Wand of the Blood to control his actions, though they never unlocked its full potential."

"The bloodline does not run through their veins."

"Only those of Koopa's line may use the wands powers to their maximum extent." 

"And only they can unlock their true potential, which you will do now."

"Hey wait--" Larry started, but the floor had started to rumble. 

"Let the sacrament begin!" they all stated in unison. The sky quickly grew darker outside and he was surrounded by a pale blue light. When the light disappeared, he found himself standing outside on the roof of Genlic, looking at it's center where 3 pinnacles were standing. But they were raised upwards by a moving platform that rode beneath them, and underneath in the center was a glowing column of white light that spat out small bolts of lightning. The sky seemed to echo in response, with occasional thunder  booming across the desert.

Feeling something, Larry pulled out his wand and found it glowing brightly. But when he looked back at that glowing column of brightness, he felt very strange as if he had fallen into a dream. Reality became a blur, the passage of time not so linear. Before he knew it, he had actually walked several steps forward towards the glowing light. He tried to do something with his wand, but soon realized that he had lost control of his limbs. He thought he heard someone call out for him, but he could not shout back: no voice came. All he could do was watch as his legs stumbled up the steps that led into the light.

Lightning began to streak across the sky, and at the base of Genlic itself a soft white light began to glow within its glassy walls, something that stunned the workers and helpers who had no idea what was occurring. Kooper looked up and saw the display for himself and wondered what the hell Larry was doing. 

But none of this was apparent to Larry at that moment, who came close enough to that light to touch it. He stopped for several moments and simply stared at the display.

"What am I?" he thought before finally reaching his arm into the column of light. 

Immediately, the glow within Genlic intensified into a brilliant light that encompassed the entire complex. That light converged on Larry's position which resulted in the pillar of light exploding, rocking the complex and shooting straight up into the sky. Everyone nearly fell on their backs at the display but were too scared to move, having no idea what to do. 

The light mingled with the clouds which created a monstrous electrical storm that began to send thick, white bolts through the air. Some began to strike the ground with loud explosions, leaving small craters in their wake. People finally started to panic and clamored into through the front gate with a roar of noise, trying to escape the electric storm from hell. 

Meanwhile, inside that white light, Larry was on the ground, crying in agonizing pain as his body twisted and transformed, not aware of what was happening. Eventually his cries ceased, and darkness overtook him. It was in this moment that the pillar of light that stretched into the sky suddenly shot downward, compounding upon itself until it reached Larry's body and all of the light and all of the bolts went out with a loud shockwave that shook in all directions. 

And it was the shockwave that woke him. He stared at the black floor, too shocked to move at that moment. Reality seemed clear again and he sensed the normal passage of time, but something was off. He moved his arm to pick himself up, but stopped immediately when he saw it. It wasn't his arm. It was a muscular monstrosity, enormous in size with sharp pointy claws at the end of an equally large paw. 

"What am I?" he said aloud, but heard his voice had grown deeper. "What? Could it be...?" He reached for his head and felt them: two curved horns protruding upwards. Not seeing his reflection in the floor, Larry quickly got up and moved next to one of the pillars and stood there in awe. The horns were there, just like his dads. His big blue eyes had narrowed considerably and his snout had become host to many more fangs than his previous four. His pale blue hair had lengthened all around. In fact, so did his height: he was at least twice as tall than he once was, maybe even three times as tall though not nearly as round as his father. While admiring the rest of his muscular physique, Larry came to the realization what all this meant. Smiling, he took his wand.

"I am..." He thrusted his wand into the sky. "King Larry Koopa!!!" He laughed hard to himself, not caring who was watching him. The new power that he felt running through his veins was amazing compared to his weaker self. He felt like he could do anything.

The clouds had started to break up and a view of the setting sun was seen to the west, glowing above the oceans waves. After what just occurred it was all eerily quiet, save for the ocean waves that crashed beneath the cliffs of Genlic. 

"Larry!"

It was that voice from before. It was faint and far, but somehow he heard it as if it was up close. Larry turned towards the south and found a number of people on the ground below him huddled next to themselves. He realized that it was the same people he had seen when he was going up the elevator.

But he turned to the source of the voice. Out of all the group, she was the only one standing and staring up at him in awe. Whether it was the wand or himself, the view suddenly closed in on her down below. She was wearing a black leather long coat with a black baseball cat, sporting a yellow W. But her blue eyes and red hair gave her away.

"Larry..." said Mona, still staring at him. "...what in the hell just happened, and how did you get so...big?"

Larry smirked.


	18. Last Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing from Chapter 17 of The Perfect World is Chapter 18 (or Chapter 1) of Legend of the Three Kings. Soon after the destruction of the Galaxy, Bowser unleashes his plan to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. This time his intentions are not a mere kidnapping.

The single light of a candle illuminated only what he needed in the surrounding darkness: an old wooden desk upon which was held a blank parchment, a quail and a bottle of ink. Even in the digital age, he preferred the old traditional methods. Perhaps the times were hitting him hard and he sought some form of mental solitude. But in any event, dipping the quail in the jar, he began to write what was likely his last letter.

_To His Majesty, the 254th King of the Blood, Larry Koopa:_

_The process was started long ago, and only now do we witness the results. A false race with false ideals with a false history, they do not know the heritage that they have inherited. It lies within the shadows, ready to be stumbled upon by anyone with an open mind and a strong will to harness it. That is why you were chosen, O King. Out of all of your siblings, you alone were the least corrupt by those who run the heart of the world._

_I must confess that before the writing of this letter that I was one of their greatest henchmen to live in plain sight. I carried out their agendas, their wishes, deeds and protocols. I carried out your education, I monitored your friendships with others, I saw what you were doing late at night on the computer. This was not the will of the Magikoopa Council, but neither was your indoctrination which you have so superbly overcome to deserve your position._

_Before I extinguish, I must entrust the history of your position to you. I do not know if you are aware of any of what I am about to say, but I implore you read further._

_The King of the Blood was a part of what was called the Divine Trinity, or the Triad of Kings. These were the King of the Earth, King of the Blood and King of the Spirit. Each king was allotted one-third share of total power over the entire race and each were given an explicit set of rules to follow. I will describe the other two briefly before explaining your responsibilities._

_The King of the Earth is what is now termed the "King of the Koopas," which is currently held by your younger brother, Bowser Junior. This is a wand made of solid titanium with a red ruby on its end. This King is responsible for governing the general landmass and populace, maintaining the survivability of the Koopa race and for evolving the Koopa race on a physical level._

_The King of the Spirit is but a mere legend. This King was responsible for the spiritual evolution of our race, maintaining morality and sanctity and vanquishing evil wherever it appeared. The wand was taken early in our history by the Naru, our original creators, deeming we had evolved far beyond our original bounds._

_The King of the Blood (your position) is responsible for the entire Koopa family and maintaining their survivability on this planet. Your race is descended from the gods themselves, separate from the original worker class and so your purity must be maintained. You must manage each family member descended from the Naru race, appoint members to key positions when necessary and prevent the outbreak of any internal fighting. In fact, you are also responsible for choosing every King of the Earth that may inherit the wand. It is to my best intentions that you will choose wisely in this manner._

_If you have not been initiated by the deceased kings residing in Genlic, then please do so as soon as it is most convenient. You will not grow your pair of horns until this is done. Merely holding a wand does not make one Koopa a King. It is only when he is initiated at the location specified for a particular wand will he become one._

_The initiation for the King of the Blood is held at Genlic itself, as you may guess. Again, if you have not done this yet, I highly recommend doing so as soon as possible._

_The initiation for the King of the Earth is held in an underground location called the Divine Cathedral, located many stories underneath Koopa Castle._

_The initiation for the King of the Spirit has been lost to time, but legend states it was located within the greatest Empire of all time, destroyed by a "wall of fire."_

_As King of the Blood, it is important to exercise fairness in your dealings with others. As the Society is still at large, any negative action you undertake only strengthens their hold on your body. If you want to defeat this evil and retake the power that lies within your blood and the blood of what will be your descendants, you must exercise complete self-control in every situation and your increasing awareness of the invisible will tell you the answers that you seek._

_I tell you this now, not just from my recent defection. I have always supported your family, since I served your grandfather Morton as advisor. Being Grand Magikoopa has taken its toll on my mind, but it never corrupted my dedication to your family._

_The last advice I must give is a warning: be wary with those you deal with, as insanity will only increase as the world continues to crumble apart in the face of annihilation. It is the Trinity that can save us all from destruction, as long as evil is in check and their hearts and minds willing._

_I must now face several strings which I failed to tie in the past, one of which I may not survive._

_May the Koopa family live forever into eternity,_

_Kamek_  
Grand Magikoopa  
Former Grand Prefect of The Society 

* * *

The voices were beginning to silence within his mind. That was the first time in years, back to a time that he could hardly remember. Finally, he could think clearly and access his situation, but his time was cut short. The long anticipated cannon fire began to be heard over the horizon, the signal of his coming invasion.

King Bowser Koopa opened his eyes and saw confirmation against the setting sun: his tanks and airships quickly moving towards his position. Brushing his red mane back with his claw, he chuckled to himself, assured of his inevitable success. He may have grown much older since his first attempt as his face had become more wrinkled with age, but that did not stop his determination and getting what he believed was rightfully his.

Luckily for him, that prize was already next to him. Dressed in regalar fashion no matter the occasion, Princess Peach looked on with a face of worry, hotly anticipating the arrival of her beloved saviors. To her, it was only a matter of time. She knew her Toad Brigade would not stand a chance against the more modern Koopa Troop, let alone the insignificant numbers that she had. 

"This is it Princess! The moment we've been waiting for!" said Bowser, always optimistic of his success. "After long last, not only will I conquer your puny little Mushroom Kingdom, but I will make it my own kingdom! Let's see Mario stand up to that!"

"W-what?!" stuttered a surprised Peach. "You mean...I'm not going back to your kingdom?"

Bowser laughed. "No, baby doll. We're not going back to my kingdom, cause we're already in my kingdom! Don't you get it? This is my land now!" As if on cue, the local Toad militia gave a cry and down below the duo were 100 troops, carrying shells, Bullet Bill launchers and other weapons. They gathered and with a shout, marched towards the oncoming Koopa force, which began to deafen the skies with its machinated force.

Unfortunately for them, Bowser's forces were too many. Tanks carrying multiple cannonball launchers fired at first sight of the enemy, and several dismembered Toads flew up in the air amidst clouds of dirt and smoke. Many cannons launched a new type of red bob-omb, which proceeded to home in on any unfortunate Toad and explode. Other Toads who sought a way to halt the advancing front line were run over by them instead, seemingly paying no heed to what lay in front of them. 

Bowser laughed with wholehearted satisfaction. "You see! There's nothing you can do! This Kingdom is mine!"

"Say that to my face, lizard freak!"

"Wha...?" Bowser turned and saw his old arch-nemesis Mario, staring him down from across the field they stood on. "Hahaha! You're a little late, my little portly plumber! I had already said that this kingdom is mine for the picking, and now it is all mine!"

"You think I'm going to let your grubby hands take Peach again? Think twice, turtle brain!" shouted Mario.

"Oh?" said Bowser. "This was already decided long before you and your little brother decided to show up. All you do is delay the inevitable, but even this time you've failed. This little mushroom kingdom is now the new Koopa Kingdom!"

Suddenly, a multitude of enemies appeared from outside the surrounding forest. Lakitu's, Monty Moles, a large number of Paratroopas and even Bullet Bill cannons were rolled out onto the plain and closed in on an increasingly worried Mario. He didn't know where his brother was, but he could use his help right now. If they weren't separated during that fateful decent through the atmosphere...hell, if the Destroyer, that large planet threatening to rip apart the entire Mushroom World hadn't appeared, then the last few years would never have happened. The Galaxy, the space station designed to contain that very fact, would never have been built. More importantly, kingdoms across the planet would've been better off they had been told the truth all along. He didn't know if he could ever forgive himself for playing alongside that cover up, but...

Mario shook his head. It didn't matter now, he was on his own. He knew he was going to have to use some his new techniques to overcome this battle.

"So, you're on an end of the world bid to fame, are ya? I might not be able to save every kingdom right now, but I can do what I came here to do. Right now."

"HA! I'd like to see you try! This is my dying wish, and I'll be damned if you get in my way!"

The ground rumbled beneath their feet, a welcome to the inevitable fight Mario would have to face. But Bowser seemed distracted by something in the distance, and when Mario turned to look he saw it: far away, a giant white pillar of light reaching into the sky. Everyone seemed entranced by it.

"What's that?" said one Lakitu, and many baddies murmured amongst themselves. Mario was confused and was not sure what it symbolized. But Bowser's face was plastered with a look of awe. A wave of realization seemed to flow through him, and after a moment he grumbled and held his head.

"...so you said that Kamek will become the next Grand Magikoopa?" Bowser suddenly asked. 

"...huh?" asked Mario, snapping out of his trance. The baddies refocused their attention on their master, with most looking very confused. 

"You said, after the death of my father, that you would-" Bowser opened his eyes and stopped short. "WHAT?" He looked around frantically. "What's going on?"

"We are invading the Mushroom Kingdom, upon your orders sire." said a Boomerang Bro.

Bowser blinked. He had suddenly remembered that. Though his memory was seemingly intact, he felt different. That pressure which was upon him had seemingly disappeared. But judging from his situation, he knew he had to keep this going.

"O-of course!" He looked at Mario and remembered his purpose. "Get him!"

Bowser's baddies prepared to assault the plumber, but at that moment, Mario unleashed his latest ability. The skies darkened for a moment before a ball of flame surrounded the plumber. 

"Wha?" said many of the underlings.

With a flash, the ball of flame spread in all directions, engulfing everything in its path. A million screams of agony were heard simultaneously. Bowser, on instinct covered Peach with his body and the flames shot past his shell harmlessly.

When the flames subsided, Mario found himself surrounded by many roasting creatures of various kinds, with the combined smell barely tolerable. Bowser got up and naturally, was dismayed by the event.

Jumping into the sky, he landed in front of Mario with a rumble, flames spitting from his snout and ready to pounce. But he had a better plan. His wand was now gone, but he still had many tricks up his sleeve. Knowing this, Bowser laughed at his arch-nemesis.

"What an incredible show of force, Mario!" he said rather sarcastically. "Perhaps you could entertain me further." Suddenly, Bowser started growing to an immense size, rising up to the sky. Those not destroyed by the flames looked in awe as his head rose well above the tree line. 

Bowser laughed, a giant facing a multitude of, what seemed to him, micro goombas. "Come on Mario, entertain me!"

"These toads need to move somewhere safe, and you're just delaying the inevitable!" Said Mario.

"Ha! They don't need to know a thing. Just look at my old kingdom. They learned the truth and a war is now all over the continent."

"Oh, so that's your excuse this time?" asked Mario. 

"It's better if they know nothing! They'll never get in my way, and I can rule with Peach until the end of the world!"  
As if on cue, a string of meteors were seen streaking through the sky and impacting not far from them, with plumes of smoke marking their location.

Mario balled his fists. He was going to have to do this if he was to free the Mushroom populace from the oncoming menace, which in the end, were hardly Bowser and his armies. The destruction of the Galaxy, that space station built to contain the coming doom that awaited the world, had let loose the plans of those who intended to survive the oncoming destruction. Mario knew that the Destroyer, which had arrived in their star system would destroy such plans in the short term, but wondered...

Bowser on the other hand, was not thinking about Mario, but rather the situation he found himself in. It seemed that memories from his childhood had suddenly become apparent to him, up to his crowning as king. Bowser knew that they could never know the Wand of the Blood had cured him. He became aware of the script laid out for him to play. But upon remembering them, Bowser knew they never created an ending, just a result. There at least, he may be able to change something and his children would have a brighter future...not controlled by them.

"The script is written Mario! Let's finish this once and for all!" said Bowser, and clenched his fist into a glowing ball of purple flame.

Mario narrowed his eyes. "Yes, it's obvious." With fists of flame, the plumber jumped head on into the giant oncoming fist of King Bowser, ready to end it all.


	19. Status Quo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riots begin over the Koopa Kingdom proper upon severe economic restraints caused by the Earth changes. "King" Junior tries to determine his response before he is thrown into conflict with his older siblings.

A large regal portrait of Bowser, donned in a modern outfit was grabbed by multiple hands before being thrown down from the wall. Amidst the shouting and overall disorder of the museum, another Koopa took a blowtorch and proceeded to burn the picture with much delight from those who stood witness. Many other Bowser relics were taken from their perches and smashed. Outside the museum, many with hammers defaced the Bowser statues lining the entrance, effectively knocking them over with considerable cheer. 

The Museum was one of many buildings that were being defaced by a large number of protestors, who's years of anger had finally boiled over into an illogical fit of rage. They were like a sea, stretching in all directions and crawled wherever Bowser had spread his kingdom, destroying everything they could in their wake. The only things seemingly not trashed were televisions, which commonly held the views of a good number as they learned the truth to what's happening in their reality. Coupled with their reduced lifestyles, they were none to happy.

Out on the streets, many people marched, demanding the resignation of Bowser and his clone. Those parts of the army sent to restore order had the opposite occur and were harassed away from their posts. 

Above, passing all of this commotion were a fleet of airships, commanded by Bowser Koopa Junior. Sitting on his seat, he was noe much older than in the past, now considered to be in his teenage years. With long horns and a growing red mane, he looked remarkably similar to his father's sake, though his eyes and snout were a bit narrower. 

Junior gripped his wand, the Wand of the Earth: a long platinum rod etched with sacred writings with a large red ruby on its end. With it, he had become the unproclaimed King of the Koopas, though many seemed to contest this. While his eldest advisors urged him to go through the proper ceremony to cement his title, he was confident in his position despite growing public protest. Though he had sent his own forces in and authorized the use of violence, it seemed to make things worse.

"They call for your abdication, sire." said a Koopatrol.

Junior also didn't know why his father would abandon him and his family. Though he had been given the wand of his father with much confusion, Bowser had said nothing about the coming changes to the planet. Why didn't Bowser tell him about this earlier? If he had, then the riot could have been prevented.

A rumble through the bridge roused him from his reflection. 

"Sir, we have confirmed fire from Roy." 

Indeed, his older brothers fleet was approaching him from the south, and in between lay a large army of civilians, seemingly marching with him.

"Oh, so that's how its gonna be?" Junior said. "Fire!" All at once, his fleet fired innumerable cannonballs at Roy's airships and the two began to exchange fire. Compared to Bowser's fully plated ship, Roy's ship was taking a number of hits. It was clear that he hadn't prepared for it.

"You see? This is why I took dad's ship!" Junior said aloud. "I knew they'd try, but they arn't string enough for the real heir to the Koopa Kingdom!" He turned to one of his lieutenants. "Has there been any sign of the eldest?"

"No sir." said a Ptooie. "We have placed the wanted ads all over the media as requested, but so far we have learned nothing of his whereabouts. There have been no sightings of his militia or intelligence within our borders either."

"Hmph. It's only a matter of time before he decides to show his ugly mug. And by then, he wont even be a real threat." Junior looked out the window towards Roy's smoking airship. "Don't worry. I'll take them down one by one until they're all under my control. That blue haired freak will be all alone with not a chance to steal my seat." Junior chuckled as he maneuvered his airship to make the final blows.

However, Junior was too engrossed in the moment to notice another fleet approaching from the south. With the capital ship clad with pink décor, it was obvious to who it was. Seated upon a silver and pink throne was Wendy O. Koopa, with what appeared to be servant koopas servicing her in a variety of ways. 

In her mind, the battle was already decided. All that she had to do was make sure Ludwig was nowhere in the vicinity and the throne would be hers. Besides, she was a far better choice than that runt of a Koopa.

"Why are we moving so slow?" she complained to frightened mechanics. "We should be at the castle by now!"

"W-we have spotted Juniors fleet, your highness." said one of the pilots. "He seems to be in a battle with Roy at the moment."

The Koopa princess hummed to herself. "I could take out both of them here right now..." she murmured aloud. 

"Y-Your highness!" said the startled pilot.

"Tch. You think Ludwig is going to come up here and like, beat up all of us and take the castle in one stroke? He's the most wanted Koopa in the world right now. Like, if I were in his shoes, I'd be so far away from the Koopa Kingdom. I wouldn't go near it."

The pilot cleared his throat and returned to his duties. Wendy stood up and observed the battle that lay in the distance. With her brother weakened, she could easily take both of them out, but...

"It's time to throw some hammers." she said, smiling sadistically.

Out on her deck stood hundreds of hammer brothers, ready for the assault. Receiving a signal, one of them took a microphone.

"Today's forecast: Sunny with a chance of hammers!" With that, all of the bros started throwing hammers into the air towards Junior's nearby airship. By the time his troopas had noticed, it was too late. Hundreds of hammers fell from the sky, denting and destroying much of the vessel.

"Sir, Wendy has come up from the south! Shes throwing hammers!"

"I see she's throwing hammers!" shouted Junior. "Screw this. I'm unleashing my ultimate weapon!" With that, the front of the ship parted ways, revealing a gigantic cannon, larger than the one's used in Bowser's '89 invasion. Before the other Koopalings could react, the cannon fired, unleashing a massive cannonball that smashed through Roy's ship like it was a toy. The civilian army struggled to evade the falling debris that suddenly rained down upon them, with many headed in nearby buildings to escape the carnage. But the ball didn't stop there. In the line of fire, Wendy's stern was torn away by the same ball and a number of sirens went off in the bridge.

"We're hit on the starboard side!" said a rocky wrench, but Wendy was already running down the hall. Amidst the chaos that erupted from the blast with workers unsuccessfully trying to doze the flames, Wendy saw what she was looking for. Hopping into a Clown Car, she immediately took off from the sinking wreck just moments before a large explosion erupted through the hall. 

Looking around, Wendy saw that Junior's secret weapon had created a gigantic mess below. Just outside Koopa City was a raining wreck of wood and fire that came from all directions. Dodging most of the debris, she spotted Roy below, dashing to what appeared to be one of his military contingents that were grouping together. She flew up next to him and Roy looked over, looking annoyed.

"And here I thought Wendy had a chance." he said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up! How was I supposed to know he had daddy's fleet?" countered Wendy.

"Give him a magic colonic." said Roy, but Wendy rolled her eyes. "Alright listen, I'm gatherin' and will attack dad's ship. We need to get him on the ground, get it?" 

"Yeah I get it." replied Wendy. "Even though that ship is like, invincible."

Roy smirked. "Heh. Don't matter if its dad's ship, your ship, whatever. It's going down."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you pull that off." said Wendy. They arrived at Roy's small encampment: an earth trench made up of survivors of the wreckage. There were few civilians left at that point, most scared off by the wreckage of Roy's airship to flee the scene. Wendy jumped out of the clown car and observed planning with his troops with some amusement.

"Alright, let's do this. When he gets lured in, blast em where it hurts." said Roy. 

"Yes sir!" said the Koopa Troopas. Each had some kind of bazooka strapped to their back with jackets of red bullet bills strapped over their shoulders.

Wendy eyed the soldiers and looked unimpressed. "Dad's ship can take that." she muttered. 

"Heh. You never seen dis before." Coincidentally, an airship was heard hovering overhead. Everyone fell silent as as they readied their cannons. Bowser's ship seemed to hover low, looking for them.

"That's him. Wait for da signal." hissed Roy. The ship moved slowly past and Wendy grew impatient.

"He's obviously doesn't see us, so why not blast him now?" said Wendy.

"Wait for it..." The ship had nearly past them, and the roar of the engines were heard throughout. 

"Now!" commanded Roy, and a dozen soldiers fired their red bullet bills. They all simultaneously flew towards the ship's engine exhaust and detonated. A large explosion billowed through the ship, and fire spurt through all the windows. Seconds later, another explosion billowed up into the sky, splitting the ship in two pieces.

"And that's half da battle." said Roy, grinning. "Now we can fight him down here."

But the rest surrounding him were silent, including Wendy herself. A certain terror swept over them, wondering what Bowser would do if he would return at this moment. Wendy was not sure if Roy was just overconfident or he actually did have a plan, but regardless it was a good maneuver.

The remains of the ship crashed into the ground not far from them and survivors were seen trying to escape the wreckage. One of them stood up and let out a huge growl of anger. Pulling out the glowing Wand of the Earth, Bowser Junior turned to the one responsible for destroying dad's ship. 

"I gave you a chance, and this is your response?" he said, walking towards Roy. "You do know that these people can't live on their own with no ruler, no leader. There would be chaos everywhere. Just look at Bowser. He deserts his kingdom for what?"

"That shouldn't be surprisin'." said Roy. "What is surprisin' is you taking his seat so fast. What made you take it all of a sudden, huh?"

Junior glared at the two, and it seemed to Wendy that there was a faint red glimmer in his eyes. The Wand pulsed briefly before falling quiet again and suddenly, her perception of the world twisted into some darker form than she knew.

"It doesn't matter." replied Junior. "All that matters is that you follow my command. The riots have to be controlled or there will be nothing for us when the shift comes."

"Wait, how did--" Wendy started, but her head swooned and she fell into darkness.

With that, Roy, without a word, made a salute and marched up to his men to relay his commands. It was sometime however before Wendy did the same, a brief glimmer of red in her eyes before turning her heel and walking back to the Clown Car.

Junior smirked. "All too easy." he remarked to himself. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the family came under his control. Most of them would be easy to seduce.

 _"Do not forget the eldest."_ said a voice. _"He is the most dangerous. Find him and destroy him."_

"What about Larry?" asked Junior.

 _"We will break him."_ said the voice before Junior disappeared in a flash of purple.


	20. Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luigi awakens to an epic showdown between two old rivals.

A persistent, metallic thunk disturbed the otherwise quiet snowy slopes of the mountains. Just below the tree line, wedged between two pine trees was an escape pod rocking back and forth. With each hit, the circular door to the craft caved outwards more and more until finally it flew off its hinges and rolled down the hill, clanging against the rocks as it went.

Out stepped a tired and beaten Luigi, not quite sure just where he was at the moment. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but considering his growling stomach it must have been at least half the day, seeing the afternoon sun lowering before him. 

Luigi looked at his surroundings and saw he had stopped right before a cliff drop, between two pines nesting just before the overhang. His luck had held out, as he recognized the Mushroom Range behind him, the border between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Kong Jungles. He was just below the tree line, and if he had been knocked by that other ship just a bit farther he would've easily been in Donkey Kong's turf.

That made him remember what happened. When the Galaxy broke up, taking the escape pod back into orbit, trying to contact Daisy and then getting knocked away...was that Bowser? Luigi knew that Bowser was on Mario's tail, probably to get his hands on Peach again. It wouldn't be a surprise if that was the case.

In any event, Luigi looked out towards the western horizon and saw he was indeed far from Peach's castle and it'd take him quite a while to arrive. "I hope she's safe..." Luigi said to himself, worried for Peach's safety. But in truth, he was more worried about his own girl, who he had lost contact with during his descent. He decided to take this one step at a time and first find a way back to the Mushroom Kingdom.

But as he looked out over the western horizon, he saw a dark cloud growing against the sky with purple lightning lashing forth. From it came a gigantic Bowser with a loud roar that nearly made Luigi trip backwards. Clearly his arch-nemesis had survived. But that meant only one thing: Peach was in trouble.

Luigi was never the one to take the initiative. He always let Mario take the lead in these things, but something told him this was urgent. He didn't know where Mario was at that moment, but he had to do his duty.

Inhaling, he ran towards the cliff and high jumped off it, falling through the air. Spying a row of ? Blocks below him hovering in mid air, he maneuvered himself and landed on one. To his luck, one of them contained a feather. Armed with a cape, he ran off the ? blocks and jumped, opening his cape in the air. He easily soared past the rest of the steep mountain sides and the enemies that walked its surface. 

Luigi crash landed a few miles from the mountain, not far from a lake. He never got the landing part of flying down and Mario always criticized him for it. Getting up and brushing off his overalls, Luigi ran in the direction of the black thundercloud that shrouded the main Mushroom Kingdom proper. Stomping on Troopas and Goombas, Luigi thought he could make out the tiny form of his brother, a red and blue dot against the demonic giant, pitted in a battle not unlike David and Goliath. 

Thinking, he darted to the side and started bumping through a series of ? Blocks to stock up on the inevitable battle. His luck held out again: after a series of coins, he pocketed a star man and continued to run towards the battle in front of him.

As he ran closer towards a forest, he saw several bright red lights appear in the sky, not far from the battle. Luigi realized that they were meteors, but whether they were drawn to Bowser's evil aura or if they were from the orbit of the Destroyer, he did not know. In any event, they streaked through the sky, flashing brightly before impacting the ground far away. The ground rumbled with each impact and Luigi struggled to stay afoot. In front of him, Mario grew to giant size, though was still half a leg shorter than that demon of a Koopa. Bowser's fiery breath had set much of the forest on fire and Luigi struggled to enter it, having to bounce on top of wigglers as they retreated from the burning blaze. After a triple jump, Luigi went airborne again with his cape before something happened. 

A large meteor suddenly appeared above the duo before smashing into the ground, sending a large plume of debris and fire into the air. The explosion made Luigi lose his senses, and he fell to the forest floor in a daze. As the plume cleared, he saw the two fighters had disappeared and all was suddenly still. 

Luigi feared the worst. He knew that nothing outside of a Star Rod or a wish from Star Haven could survive that impact. He cringed his teeth and sprinted forward.

"MARIO!!!!" he cried, but received no response, save the dying fires that lay behind him. He ran as fast as he could through the now darkened forests, with dark dust clouds blocking out the sun.

He ran for what seemed like ages until the forest suddenly terminated into a large crater, nearly a mile in circumference. Looking below, he saw Mario and Bowser, lying still in the dirt with a distressed Peach between them, sobbing to herself. The dead bodies of Bowser's troops surrounded them all, as if the whole area was a bubble of a fallen battlefield. 

At first Luigi could not believe what he saw and thought that perhaps his bro needed a 1-up, and frowned for not remembering to pick one up for him. But before he started he heard the noise of machinery, and on the right lip of the crater he saw metallic vehicles roll up. A door opened and a Koopa with large blue hair stepped out before pausing and seeing the situation for himself. It wasn't until he suddenly bolted down the crater that Luigi did likewise. 

Sliding down the dirt, Luigi jumped over various corpses, trying to outrun the Koopaling to the princess. But as he approached, it became apparent their paths were different as Ludwig had darted directly to Bowser. 

Ignoring him for a moment, Luigi ran up to the princess and placed his arms on her shoulders. "Peach! Are you okay?"

She did not look up. Her tears continued to fall, his words had fallen onto deaf ears. Luigi dreaded the next moment and almost did not want to look. He already knew what lay there, and again regretted not finding a 1-up before he arrived. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions: it was his brother, bloodied and severely injured. He did not appear to be breathing.

He slowly walked over, dreading the worst. Indeed, Mario was not breathing and it seemed his legs were half buried in the dirt. He was going to need help pulling him out. 

"I...know this face..."

Luigi looked behind him: it was Bowser, who had also sustained terrible injuries. His shell had been cracked open with a long vertical split down the center. From what Luigi knew of the Koopa's, that was the equivalent of the death penalty. Ludwig was now looming over him with a sad look.

"You had been struck by a meteor." began Ludwig, "Part of a swarm sent from the Destroyer."

"When did you get so big?" Bowser said, coughing up blood.

"Hmm?" The Koopaling hummed to himself. "We have all grown into ourselves, although I will admit, Lemmy's growth hormonal dysfunction leaves much to be desired."

"We? You were the only one I had." replied Bowser.

"What?" It became apparent to Ludwig that this wasn't simple amnesia.

"You were little before I...took it." he continued. "You might not remember. Those damn magicians put a spell on me and everyone ever since I took the wand. I don't know how long I've played their games, but..." He reached for something. "I feel they have another one to take my place."

"...that would be Junior," said Ludwig, "Your clone. To be honest, I had always wondered why he was created in the first place."

"That's his name!" growled Bowser. "They made me give it to him. That's against the rules and they know it!" Bowser's body shook from too much pain and lay still again.

"Please try to rest." said Ludwig. "I will call the infirm--"

"No!" Bowser interrupted. "Listen to me! They will achieve their ends if I don't say anything about it."

"Who is this 'they?'" inquired Ludwig.

Bowser sighed. "My journal says it all, but here's the short hand. They have ruled our family for generations. Some say since the last shift, I don't know. They are not to be crossed. They have powers far beyond anything I can imagine. I tried to take them down with the Earth Wand back when I was a princeling, and the next thing I know I'm lying here bleeding to death."

Ludwig said nothing.

"Do not take them lightly! They will use us and all of our descendants who can wield the two wands to get what they want. Junior is their next puppet, just like how I was their last. Damn them! Damn them to the abyss!" The king coughed up more blood and more began to run out of his shell. 

"I have...one vivid memory." started Ludwig. "Of a place near the Divine Cathedral. You were escorting my person through the underground and we came across--"

"Creatures." said Bowser. "I remember that. They are servants of the...Society..."

"The Society?"

"That's what I call them. I do not...know their real name..." Bowser's body suddenly limped. Ludwig rushed to him, but found he was still breathing. Ludwig gathered himself. 

"Your life was not in vain, father." said Ludwig. "It will be due to your eternal staunchness against their agenda that we will prevail. The Kingdom, and the world will finally walk again without their presence."

Bowser nodded and reached for something inside his broken shell. "Take this." Bowser handed Ludwig his own personal wand. "It will be useful for...many things. Kamek...can tell..." Bowser groaned. "Sorry for..." He painfully turned the other way. "I'm sorry..."

Peach stopped crying and looked up.

"Peach..." He reached out his hand. "Forgive...me..."

She looked away at first, but an instinct, a gut feeling made her look back. All of it was too much for her, but she had to say something.

"It's okay. It's all over now." she managed a weak smile.

"Yes...see you...soon." His head fell and his chest stopped moving. There was a long silence and it seemed that something great had ended that to them, that had filled up their whole lives with a sense of purpose. Now taken from them, to see something beyond, they knew not what to say.

Ludwig tilted his head to the sky and watched the dark clouds part, revealing the setting sun against the western horizon. He murmured something to himself before looking back down at the corpse of his father.

Luigi snapped out of his trance and turned back to Mario. He looked around for any sign of help, but they were surrounded by corpses, and there was no one on the edge of the crater to be seen.

"Peach..." Luigi began, but Ludwig abruptly stepped up to them.

"Your highness, I fear you may only hear these words once." said Ludwig. "For all that my father has done to you and your kingdom, I sincerely apologize. It is unfortunate that the circumstances do not allow me the proper ability now, but when I acquire it...I will bring this atrocity to an end. I neither desire your person nor your people."

Peach smiled weakly, but could not find the words to respond and instead nodded in place.

Ludwig turned to Luigi. "It seems our paths are set. You no longer have to worry over such petty acts that consisted of my father's administration. You may now save the one waiting for you, while I must accomplish a destiny that...even I'm unsure is even possible."

"The one waiting..." Luigi murmured, but it soon hit him. "Daisy!"

"Yes." said Ludwig. "As I descended through the troposphere, I had spotted a vessel of-" A large rumble interrupted him, and as both looked around them they saw above a fresh wave of incoming meteors headed towards them.

"It was headed towards her homeland." Ludwig finished, turning and dashing back up towards his strange vehicle. "I wish you luck!" he cried back as he neared the lip of the crater.

Luigi sighed and re-examined the situation around him. Peach had stopped crying and was watching the two speak previous, but was now looking at the incoming meteor swarm with worry. Mario had to be dug up and brought back, but there was no help to get them out. Luigi could try to pull him out, but he knew...

"Princess, hurry! We must get back to the castle." said Luigi.

"Mario..." she sighed, too sorrowful for her loss to make a move.

"We can get him later." reasoned Luigi. "I'll get a 1-up, and then he will be okay."

Just as soon as he finished, a loud noise was heard above them; clearly, luck was against Luigi that day. Another meteor was headed straight towards them, filling all the sky above them red.

Luigi had little time to think. He knew that they wouldn't make it in time to the lip of the crater at this rate. Luigi had to do something, but he was at a loss. Mario would not survive another impact and neither he nor the Princess would. He did not see any warp pipes in the vicinity. 

But he suddenly remembered his star man. Perhaps that and his cape would do, but...

The noise snapped him back, and the temperature suddenly rose. Time seemed to slow down. He reached into his pocket and tossed the star man towards Peach. At the very least, she would be the one who would live. Luigi knew he would be seeing his brother very soon, if heaven even existed at all in this world.

Suddenly, Luigi's clothes grew bright and vibrated different colors: Peach had tossed it back to him!

"What? Peach! WHY?" shouted Luigi.

She closed her eyes. "I cannot be saved anymore, Luigi. All of my heroes have fallen, and so has my heart." She looked up at Luigi and smiled. "But you still have someone else waiting for you. Please take care of her..."

"WHY?" he shouted again. Why couldn't he save anybody that mattered to him? The answer never came as the meter hit the ground he stood upon and all became a sea of dirt and ash before darkness fell over him.


	21. Chess Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Larry Koopa awakens to another day at Genlic before he is mentally attacked by a suspicious group.

He awoke from his nightmare. The glassy black majesty hovered over him, radiating the rays of dawn through the open archways surrounding the chamber. The curtains that covered them blew with the incoming breeze, which also rattled an unrolled parchment that lay on a desk in the far corner: Kamek's letter.

Finally, with a growl King Larry Koopa sat up and looked at the western horizon. It was a silence he needed after what he had seen. But Larry knew to take his dreams seriously. Ever since taking the Wand of the Blood, visions and dreams befell him like an impenetrable maze and half his time he now dedicated to sorting it all out. The other half, for his survival site.

Remembering this, Larry got out of his bed and looked at himself in a mirror. Yep, the horns were still there and so was his new height. He was still the King of the Blood, and he still lived inside the Eternal Fortress Genlic. He had an illogical impulse to check every morning...just in case. He still didn't fully believe it, to be on par with his father King Bowser-

He cringed as his memories returned from the night before. He remembered seeing a great battle in the Mushroom Kingdom between the legendary two arch rivals and then darkness. In his mind, he could not see the spitting image of Bowser or know his whereabouts, an ability he had inherited upon his ascension. Larry pulled out the wand, a long glassy black mass that noticeably lacked any gem or sphere at its tip. Instead, within was a cascading rainbow of colors awash in a dance, which acted as the wand's material foothold.

With a few words, the wand suddenly glowed white before returning to its former state. Larry was right. His father's magic signature was nowhere to be found.

"Man, I hope not." he muttered to himself. He was indifferent to Bowser's decision to hand the kingdom over to Junior, as he got along well enough with Junior. But with the recent events unfolding in the Koopa Kingdom and how his little brother was poorly managing the riots, Larry wondered if that was the best choice. Larry thought about Ludwig, using his ability to see other members of the family just by using his mind. but just like the night before, he couldn't make out his location. Being hunted down by Junior was not something Larry had agreed to begin with, but he understood the reasons and wondered what Ludwig had done to mask himself from his presence.

Larry walked to a more transparent wall, which almost immediately devolved back into the surrounding glass, allowing him passage. Walking through the hall, he thought about his other siblings and what they were doing. Morton seemed to be defying himself against Junior, camping himself not far from Bowser's Castle, awaiting his imminent return. But it was when Larry thought of Roy when he abruptly stopped walking.

Roy's behavior had changed. He was no longer fighting Junior. Instead, he was with Wendy, who had apparently also changed: they were traveling with Junior towards Bowser's Castle. Amazingly, he seemed to be even praising his little brother, which Larry didn't make sense of. What did Junior do, mind control them? If so, Larry realized that Junior was not what he appeared to be at all. In a sense, he was thankful that Junior was not yet King of the Earth; he was in name, but not of body. He had yet to undertake that ceremony, and Larry knew that was the reason he was headed back.

Larry started walking again, feeling his stomach growling. He was going to have to do something about this, as it appeared Junior suddenly possessed Bowser's personality out of nowhere. But that would have to wait until he had breakfast. Passing through an archway, he walked over to a circular recess in the floor and muttered something to himself.

With a clunk, the floor moved down for several moments before stopping some floors below. After walking through another hallway, he arrived at his destination: the upper eatery. A large room, it housed a long dining table smothered in red velvet that seated at least 50 people total, including Larry's cushy seat on one end. As Larry sat down, he took a glance across and saw that about 15 had managed to wake themselves up and crawl all the way up here. This included some of his new staff that he had hired, as he didn't want the survival group to volunteer for positions due to his affairs. As much as possible, he would have to fulfill two roles at once without one getting in the way of the other.

"Morning." said Mona, who looked more than half asleep. She pointed to something in the middle of the table. "I made maple sugar rolls."

"Nice." commented Larry.

"Hi boss." said Kooper with a mouthful. "I have a bunch of news for you."

"Yeah, me too. But I have to wake up first or I'll be speaking another language." Larry poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip.

"Some people are doing that already." said Kooper. "I mean, not a lot, but...they speak in tongues. You can hear them before they drift off for the night."

"They're going loco." muttered Mona, biting off a bun. "Cause they've turned into farmers and their McKoopa's are gone."

"It's okay." said Bombette. "We planned for insanity, right?"

"Yeah." said Kooper. "Well, we have a room."

"The gymnasium, right?" asked Larry. "They'll just bounce off the walls in there, or play dodgeball for 15 hours a day. That's what Lemmy would do all the time." He sipped his wine. "Any news about that little announcement I did yesterday?"

"Oh, you bet there is. Never mind the amount of people that decided to show up after that."

"More came?" A day earlier, Larry had announced himself to the Koopa Kingdom as the next King of the Blood.

"That, and Junior made a public response."

"Oh really? Let's see it." On the ceiling and high up on the walls were a number of holographic projectors, and all of them turned on to show the mug of Junior as he appeared on state television the night prior.

"After an eternity, the King of the Blood has returned to us." said Junior. "While there will only be one King of the Koopas, myself, I still welcome Larry into the ever growing Koopa Kingdom. Best of luck to you!"

"That's it?" muttered Larry. "Obviously he doesn't give a shit. No messages for me today, right?"

A butler bowed close by. "No sir, nothing has arrived."

"No personal congrats, no nothing...except some formal recognition." Larry drank his wine. He had made it himself, having discovered the wonders of mixing his gardening and alcoholic knowledge together. It was bitter, but at least it was drinkable now, unlike his last batch. "Yeah." He would have to check his email later just in case, but he doubted Junior would say anything else.

"Alright, let's do the morning report." said Larry. With that, the projector images shifted from Junior's face to a holographic model of Genlic itself. Situated upon a rocky hill, it was anything but the definition of a brick and mortar fortress: it seemed to be blown from volcanic glass, with its twisting curves rising up to form spires at the top. A gargantuan work of art, it was the oldest Koopa structure known to exist on the surface.

"For today..." Kooper started, shuffling through some papers, "The current population count is 10,941, residing in levels 3 through 52, as well as B3 to B10. There are no major incidences within the last day, however there have been increasing trends towards eccentric behavior. They have not been classified as insane as of yet, but we'll keep an eye on the situation. Food production has increased 3% due to the influx of the latest batch that arrived a week ago. The biggest change is the surplus of wheat of about 28% on level B43, and the 1-up patches are down by about 7%."

"That's too large." said Larry. "Is there any way to get rid of all that?"

There was silence for a moment, then the sound of a finger snap was heard. "I've got an idea!" said Mona, a few seats down.

"Shoot."

"I'll start a pizza shop. That'll take care of your overstuffs, and I know there's some tomatoes we started growing a few floors below that one."

"Well, I'm not refusing that."

"I wouldn't let you anyway."

"Heh." Larry turned back to Kooper. "How's the water volume, for the irrigation?"

"Hmmm..." Kooper pressed a few buttons and the holograms shifted to a display of the irrigation network throughout Genlic, with pipes extending beneath the complex for nearly a mile to an underground reservoir. "We're using about 2 million gallons a day for irrigation now and that's getting near the refresh rate for the river."

"I see. So our population cap is getting close..."

"You could say that." said Kooper.

"And those people near the gates yesterday...?"

"Oh yeah, that." Kooper shifted the image to the front gates of Genlic, which depicted a large morass of people that seemed to have set up camp just outside. More seemed to be arriving in the distance.

Larry tapped his claws on the table. He knew this was an unavoidable consequence from his announcement to the Koopa Kingdom. Even though he had not disclosed his location, it didn't matter as it was well known in Koopa history. The problem, the tough part was how to exactly deal with them.

"If they're staying anywhere near this place, then they have to know we won't feed them." finally said Larry. "You start that once, you'll never hear the end of it. Of course, they can build settlements around this place if they wish, but they have to know that I'm the authority around here."

"Are you sure not giving them any help is a good idea?" questioned Bombette.

"The last thing I want are lame, ragtag armies trying to overtake this place."

"That's probably going to happen at some point anyway." said Bombette. "But I'm not talking about food. I'm talking about healing & teaching them stuff."

"That'll make them stay here." muttered Mona. "And if they don't have anything to eat, of course they're going to rattle at us. Did you see how dry the ground is out there? They wont be able to grow anything."

"Exactly, which is why it's better to send them off somewhere else." said Larry.

"Yeah, but where?" asked Mona.

Larry then saw the greater problem facing him: not just from turning away travelers looking for shelter, but advising them on where to proceed. Advising people from Wario's territories was easy enough, but never mind the refugees that had started to come in from the Koopa Kingdom. After it was all said and done, that entire area would be uninhabitable and the Koopa's would be a wandering people until they found a new home.

"Most of your people are here now, right?" asked Larry.

"Well, yeah. Doesn't mean more won't try to come up here, though."

"I hope they don't. No offense or anything..."

"Yeah, I get it." she muttered to herself. She knew how fishy many of the residents of Diamond City were.

"But I have a Kingdom of panicking residents to deal with, and they're already starting to arrive here. Seeing how the Koopa Kingdom is going to be devastated in the near future, this is probably nothing compared to what will probably happen."

"But they can't stay here." Kooper put bluntly. "There's not enough room."

"Well, when this war is over, I'm planning on chatting with my bros and figuring out a battle plan for this. We have to set up migration routes. I set aside some room here for that time, but that'll require another announcement."

"Like Junior would allow that." snorted Mona.

"But you forget Mona, " Larry said smiling, "I'm the head of my family now. If I want to announce the coming of Naru to everybody, then I'll announce the coming of Naru to everybody."

"I don't know, is that really a good idea?" asked Kooper, biting into a roll. "Especially since we don't even have strong leadership over there at the moment."

"I think people have more than enough clues to figure this out." said Larry. "Like the weather. Let's bring that up."

The next thing that appeared on the holo displays was a list of ongoing weather and issues relating to the Earth changes. Many people shook their heads at the lengthy list, which included numerous flooding reports over washed out coastal cities, landslides in mountain towns across the planet, severe storms and a list of the most powerful earthquakes within the past 48 hours.

"Well, I meant about controlling themselves." stated Kooper. "I understand that someone with open eyes can easily figure this stuff out. But..."

"What's happening in the Koopa Kingdom is not the prime example, you know." said Larry. "What Bowser set up is coming undone, and his old cabinet doesn't want that. It wont come out in the Koopa Kingdom at first, but if you've been keeping tabs on the Mushroom Kingdom lately, you can see they've been taking this pretty well...besides that little thing my dad did. None of it is official though, nothing broadcast."

"That's what I meant." said Kooper. "This is all in whispers. You can announce your presence to everyone, but as disasters increase and things continue to break down-"

Larry didn't hear the rest of it as a dull pain suddenly ripped through his mind. Tall priests with long black robes filled his vision, with their hoods covering their heads. He saw a large room lit by candles and torches, and in the center was a circle of them chanting in a language he did not know. A priest with black robes lined with gold suddenly stood up and slowly turned his neck. Larry realized his predicament and tried to will himself out of the situation.

He opened his eyes and found himself back at Genlic, still seated in the great dining hall.

"...Larry?" said Kooper, looking puzzled. Larry shook his head.

"Another spell..." Larry managed to say, rubbing his forehead. "I have to cut this short and figure out what's going on."

"...Sounds good to me." Kooper replied. "I'll take care of the rest."

With that, Larry got up from his seat and quickly walked out of the dining room. Entering the room from where he came, he moved the circular floor up a floor to a hall ending with two petal-like doors, which instantly folded back upon his arrival.

"Be careful."

Larry turned and saw the source of the voice: Ashley. Having passed away not too long ago from her crash landing, she was now a spirit that "looked over things" inside Genlic, though Larry didn't exactly know why as of yet. But he guessed she must have sensed that latest psychic attack on him.

"Thanks." he said, hurriedly moving along into the chamber. Ashley momentarily watched him pass before her form disappeared.

Inside the room was the large black sphere, floating near the ceiling and abuzz with many spirits wisping this way and that inside, all bickering with each other in some argument. Below this was a black globe a bit smaller in size that rested atop a pedestal jutting from the floor, and nothing was seen within it. As soon as Larry approached, they calmed themselves into silence.

"This is the second time I've been probed by this group." said Larry. "Who are they?"

"We have sensed their attack." said one.

"It has been anticipated for some time." said another, finishing the first.

"If not inevitable." said a third. They all spoke in at most a few sentences.

"So, was it the Magikoopa Council you guys were talking about?" asked Larry.

"While they directly controlled your father, they are but a front." said another.

"The hierarchy of your race runs deep."

"There are those who consider you a possible threat to their plans."

"They stand above the world like giants of the shadows. Felt, but not recognized."

"It is they who your father had risen up against in his youth."

Larry remembered his dream from the night before. While vague now, he remembered parts of Bowser's and Ludwig's last conversation.

"He failed, right?" asked Larry, trying to remember.

"So did all before him." said one.

"For millenia they have dictated your policies."

"And all those who did not align with their greater plan were thrown aside, like mere pawns in a chess game."

"And Junior's their latest piece." Larry said to himself, nodding.

"They intend on maintaining the status quo for as long as possible." said another.

"But be aware that it is dangerous to scry their intentions from afar. They are able to detect such motives."

"Just as how you were able to see their last attempt to read your mind."

"So, that was them." Larry said. "And what do they want with me?"

"Why has the Magikoopa Council retained the Wand of the Blood for over 500 years?" asked one of them.

"...good point." Larry muttered.

"Your position was a threat in the past." said another.

"And so it was eliminated. They attempted to erase all knowledge of it from history, but that is futile."

"But with your unexpected return, you now pose a threat to their final plan."

With a wave of his hand, the black globe suddenly came to life, showing an image of the Mushroom World. The Koopa Kingdom was seen in the north, easily spotted from its blackish morass of rock that it was surrounded by. Below this, a strait separated it and the main Mushroom Continent, which included the Mushroom Kingdom, the Kong territories to the west and the Yoshi Isles that lay to the south. To the east side of the globe was a continent that stretched itself from south to north, before being broken by a similar strait across the main Koopa landmass. On the northern edge of this atop a mountain of solid rock was the Eternal Fortress Genlic.

"We will tell you more about them when they aren't currently watching us."

Larry judged the weight of those words. "Alright." he managed to say. He knew that he and his other siblings could have an edge over these guys if they played their moves right. Larry now knew that the purple aura that had always surrounded Bowser was one of their manifestations, one of their ways of controlling others. That was one way of detecting who was "under the influence." Bowser and now Junior were prime examples.

At the same time, Larry was almost positive that nearly none of his other siblings had any knowledge of their fates, nor of the powers behind the Wand of the Earth. In effect, he was going to have to guide their moves for them, but he was going to have to be discreet about it.

"Roy." said Larry, and instantly a purple aura in the shape of Roy appeared inside the globe, within the boundaries of the Koopa Kingdom. He was surrounded by Junior and what appeared to be Wendy's purple aura, slowly moving northward towards the castle. Larry sighed. His visions had been correct.

"He is headed towards Bowser's Castle along with Wendy and Bowser Junior." said one of the ghosts.

"The latter will undergo the Earth ceremony soon."

Larry nodded. Junior was only a king in name. He would not become the true King of the Earth until such a ceremony was held at the Divine Cathedral, where he would inherit the horns of the king. But that just made Larry wonder where Junior's horns had come from in the first place. None of his other siblings seemed to have them. For now, he decided to focus on his siblings. Two of them were already under the control of the same group that now controlled Junior.

"Morton." said Larry. Inside the globe, the three aura's disappeared and a red one manifested not far to the east of Bowser's Castle. It did not move. The fact that Morton retained his magic signature was a good sign, and probably meant he had some clue as to what's going on. Larry's vision of him certainly told him that as well.

So, he had one sibling he could use to stop Junior.

"Ludwig." said Larry, and Morton's aura disappeared. But nothing of Ludwig's aura was to be seen. That made things even more puzzling. Just a day before, he had been clearly visible in the Mushroom Kingdom, just like what he had seen the night previous. But he disappeared afterwards. Though Larry could see Ludwig's surroundings now, they were dark and nothing could be easily made out.

"What is going on with Ludwig?" asked Larry.

"He is taking all precautions." said one.

"He knows what he is up against, to an extent."

"Given his current situation, he will probably not be found unless he unveils himself deliberately."

Larry knew that his brother had effectively become the most wanted Koopa in the world and that he'd probably try to plan against his capture, but what that plan was Larry did not know. He moved on to something that's been bothering him lately, as he had not been able to see him at all since his crowning.

"Iggy." said Larry. Iggy's aura showed up somewhere in Diamond City. Suddenly, another aura with Iggy's magic signature appeared outside of Peach's Castle. Yet another was seen in the middle of the Southern Mushroom ocean. The exact same aura kept appearing all over the globe in a random fashion seemingly regardless of location, until the number was well over 200 and counting. Larry made a face at the sight.

"What the hell does this mean?" he asked. But the spirits were whispering amongst themselves and did not answer immediately. Eventually, an older spirit with a gray beard appeared within the larger globe.

"If I believe this to be the case...then it is best not to disclose his situation at this time. I recommend proceeding with what's in front of you." Considering what they had said earlier about being watched, Larry decided not to press the issue further.

"Okay. Lemmy." said Larry. The hundreds of Iggy aura's disappeared to make way for Lemmy's aura to show in a rather peculiar spot. Larry looked at it for a moment, then smiled. Junior's chances just went downhill dramatically.

"Okay, let's speak with Morton first." he said as he prepared his words for what will ultimately become an intricate chess game with his unseen foes. The black globe shifted to white and prepared to transmit to Morton's wand.


	22. The Clown Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lemmy Koopa attempts the crossing of the Valley of the Koopa's with a mysterious wand that has the power of kings...

From the still darkness came two moving lights, each held by one scaly hand. Clothed in black robes and hoods that covered their faces, they were tall beings, bowing before the height of the ceiling as they shuffled across the ancient corridor to their destination. Arriving at a set of old iron doors, they quickly whispered something amongst themselves before pushing one door aside.

They walked into a large circular room, dark and illuminated only by candles and unholy stained windows. In the center was a gathering of these priests, arranged in a circle around a strange device. The two priests walked up to the circle and as if on cue, their canting ceased. The circle turned towards the two.

"What news?" said one of the priests.

The two priests bowed. "The King of the Blood has returned."

"Then it is as we suspected." said another.

"That traitor has already been marked for death." said one. "We are now investigating this so called...King of the Blood. What about the first?"

"He was seen in the Mushroom Kingdom. We now know he has the scepter of Bowser."

"And now?"

"His aura has disappeared before he departed." 

"Then he is aware of us." said the head priest, lined with golden markings. "He will not be allowed to enter the Kingdom unnoticed." He snapped his finger and two shape shifters manifested from nothing. "Capture and imprison him on sight." They bowed and disappeared as quickly as they came.

"The clone of Bowser is now moving to the Divine Cathedral." said one of the two priests. "He will arrive within the day."

Saying nothing, the head priest turned back around and stared at the device in front of him. He was sure the grand scheme would not be hindered, even with the resurrection of the Blood King, but there was something unexplainable in the back of his mind that bothered him.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" asked the priest next to him, sensing his uneasiness.

He turned. "I will keep an eye on it." he said. But in truth, he was somewhat concerned: he had never felt something like this before. And the fact that a light aura surrounded it made him feel uneasy.

* * *

Little could be seen except for the blinding whiteness that surrounded them all. An occasional stone monument sometimes poked through the ground and could be seen if it was close enough, otherwise it was the same everywhere except what lay ahead. A large mountain chain, spreading from left to right and rising above the clouds to unknown heights. Upon sight of it, the army started to speed their advance, eager to escape the blizzard.

"We're almost there!" shouted a Koopa Troopa, wearing a thermal winter jacket and red thermal goggles. "Inform the prince!"

"Roger!" said another with similar dress, and tapped his headset for a signal. Meanwhile, at about half a mile back from the front was a large ship, plated in gold and intricate design that flew inside the cloud cover. To those below, it was but a soft glow and none knew what it really was.

Inside the cockpit, a pilot pressed his headpiece and nodded. "Roger, I will inform his majesty immediately." He pressed a button upon his console. "Your majesty, the Koopa Crags are within sight!"

In a quiet room, Lemmy Koopa was sitting on an oversized chair when he heard the annoucement. Bookmarking his place in a diary, he looked up at the speaker and hummed to himself. The make or break moment was about to happen, and he wondered how many troops would try to mutiny him. It was considered insane to cross into the Valley of the Koopas, but they didn't know about the wand he found, did they?

"Okay, I'll be in the map room." replied Lemmy. Hopping down from the chair, he left the room and walked through a series of metallic corridors before descending a spiral staircase into a long room with a table in the center. On it were topographic maps of the Koopa Crags and beyond, the Koopa Kingdom. Blueprints of Bowser's Castle were also evident, piled on the corner of the table. Surrounding it were Lemmy's top generals, most of which looked nervous.

"We will reach the Valley of the Koopa's in a few moments." said a bearded Troopa. "But I still wonder if this is the right course of action. No army has ever emerged without loss from that place."

"Yeah," said Lemmy, putting his head in his hands on the table. "That's what everybody tells me."

"Granted, the Valley of the Koopa's is the only traversable route through the Koopa Crags from here to the Sarasaland border." said a red-capped Troopa, pointing his finger to a valley that ran north to south through the middle of the mountains. "However, the safer route is undoubtly flying over the northeast portion of the range and approaching the castle from the east. Morton is stationed all along that area and we could use the support."

"That's exactly what Junior is expecting." argued another general, this one with a black scarf. "If we were to attack at all, that is. It's insane to cross the western Crags in full eruption, much more to do what we're about to do."

"That's why he won't expect it!" chimed in Lemmy with a smile. "Look at this." He pointed to a blueprint of the castle's defenses. "All sides have all sorts of stuff, but the north face? Pfft, nothing but a garden and the entrance to the Valley. There's an old guard station half way up one of the mountains nearby but if we take that, we're golden. Junior will never reach it."

"Please excuse me your majesty, but perhaps you do not understand the dangers that lie ahead of us." said the bearded Koopa. "The Valley of the Koopa's is known as the resting place for all the Koopa Kings before us, and it is no secret that the whole valley is haunted. The spirits there are unseen and hostile to anyone who is not one of them in power. I've heard tales of people dropping dead suddenly, with no explanation."

"Rumor has it that an entire army of 400 was wiped out before it even reached the other side." said the Koopa with the scarf.  
"Because they were facing something invisible. How can we fight something we cannot see?" 

Lemmy childishly smiled to himself. "I brought along a surprise!"

"We are essentially facing an invisible, undead army, each with the power of Bowser." muttered the Koopa with the red hat. "Can your surprise somehow stop them?"

"Yep!" said Lemmy. 

"We have reached the northern mouth of the valley." came an announcement. The generals looked at Lemmy in disbelief, but his smile never disappeared. 

"Your majesty!" A solider ran into the room and bowed. "An argument has broken out in the front lines. Many are disputing the mission, and some have threatened to return to base."

Lemmy did not respond, but instead walked towards a sealed metallic door on the far wall and opened it.

"Clearly, you can see this mission is ludicrous!" said the bearded general before the door slammed shut on them. Lemmy did not care what they thought, for he knew that what they thought was wrong. This was the image of a disaster waiting to happen, to most who saw things only skin deep.

Zipping up his winter coat and tightening his hood, he pulled a pair of large yellow thermal goggles over his eyes before opening the next door. A large blast of cold air nearly blew him backwards, but he was well aware of his disadvantages. Getting up, he struggled out into the blizzard and clamored about on the deck, gathering his bearings. Looking over the railing, he could see nothing but cloud cover all around him, illuminated by the blue lights of the ship's exterior. He pulled out a radio.

"Hey, it's me. Lower the ship!" he commanded.

"...yes sir." came the response. The engine's revved up and slowly the cloud cover parted. Below was an infinite snowy landscape, dotted with soldiers moving this way and that. To Lemmy's left was the edge of the Koopa Crags, covered with a heavy blanket of snow with a single entrance through. As he got closer, it became apparent that many near the front were arguing amongst themselves. 

"There is a message at the entrance to the valley." buzzed Lemmy's radio. 

"Second." he replied, and reached for something inside his shell. Finding it, he held it in front of room: a brilliant wand plated in gold with precious gems and intricate writing: the Wand of Koopa. According to his father's diary, this was the device used to cross the valley. He had no idea how to use it, nor did Bowser give much instruction on how to use it, but...

Lemmy held the wand aloft, and suddenly it shone a brilliant radiance, illuminating all the clouds around it. And the soldiers below stopped and looked up at the sight and saw a beautiful ship lowering before them. Also plated in gold, it was sleek in design and dotted with blue lights on it's bow and stern. It had no wings, instead it was supported by thrusters on its belly.

"Hey!" shouted Lemmy, but his voice was suddenly magnified ten fold, and all the others stopped their arguments and finally looked up at the sight. "Oh, cool. Listen! This thing will protect you guys. Stop worrying! We'll make it to the other side as long as I keep using this."

"What about the spirits of the kings?" came a voice, though Lemmy could not see the source.

"Only someone with the power of the King can enter the valley, right?" asked Lemmy, inhaling. "This is the thing Bowser used to cross the valley years ago. So if you think that never happened, well you can walk back in this blizzard back home if you want."

Many grunts were heard simultaneously. "Okay, then we're going in!" 

"Hey sir, did you see this?" came a voice below.

"See what?"

"There's a message at the entrance."

"No...hold on." He thought of a way to get down to the surface. Being the family acrobat, he jumped off the railing and soared through the air before flipping and landing on his feet with minimal effort. Trudging through the snow, he worked his way through the ranks until he reached the front of the force, which was staring at the mouth of the valley. There, a sign was erected on either side of the entrance. On the post was a Troopa carcass tied fast, and above the skull was a sign. 

Lemmy frowned. It was clearly a warning, but the language written was too old for him to understand it. 

"Only the Koopa King shall pass." said a Troopa next to him. "But beg your pardon-"

"It overrides it." Lemmy said to himself. The Wand of the Earth is what would normally be used, but if Bowser made it through the wand he held now...what exactly was it? He shook his head and turned back. "We're going through." He jogged through snow before jumping into the air, but the wand seemed to levitate him upwards. "Whooooo!" He nearly overshot the ship he came with, but managed to land on top it and slide himself down back to the railing he came out on. 

After heading back into the ship and slipping out of his winter gear, Lemmy casually walked through the map room on his way to the bridge, amidst the generals with startled looks on their faces. 

"The Wand of Koopa!" finally exclaimed the bearded general. "Things have suddenly turned around."

Lemmy turned and smiled. "Yeah, Tell the others about it, won't you?" Passing through the room, he walked through a hallway until opening a door to the bridge, small in comparison to his brother's vessels and even his own for the Koopa Troop. Two pilots sat in the front, and behind them was a large seat raised up surrounded with interesting gadgets from the far past. Sitting on it, Lemmy put his head in his hand and thought to himself for a moment. At length, he grabbed what appeared to resemble a type of microphone hanging above him. 

"Alright, let's do this!" he shouted, his voice traveling outside through the area. An uproar was heard in the ships speakers; the response of his troops. 

"Roger sir, moving into the valley." said his co-pilot. At once, the ancient vessel moved forward and the ground forces halted for a moment, letting Lemmy take the lead. They past the warning sign and entered the valley, the Crags closing in on both sides.

Lemmy reached into his shell and pulled out the diary he was reading from before. It was not his, but rather his father's, King Bowser. Found alongside the Wand of Koopa aboard the vessel he now rode, it contained information about his upbringing, the enemies he faced and much more. He had already gone through many of the earlier entries, but what he was focused on now was what Bowser dubbed "The Society."

According to Bowser, they were the "sons of God" who believed they had inherited the Earth after their forefather's disappearance. Judging from Bowser's somewhat crude sketch on the opposite page, they were taller and tended to wear black hoods over their heads. Evidently, Bowser noted that he was descended from them through a "lesser, watered down line."

"Maybe..." But to Lemmy, Bowser's journal made the whole situation stink even more. Where was Bowser in all of this? Why was Junior being so aggressive to become the next King, and why was he attacking his siblings? Why was there an international arrest warrant for Ludwig being broadcast all over television? 

Lemmy didn't even notice the hour pass by him as his forces moved deeper into the valley, until the ship suddenly came to a halt. He looked up and noticed an abrupt change in landscape. When they first entered the valley, the land was covered in blankets of snow with no life to be seen in either direction. Now, the land was covered in black rock and the sky was equally as dark, save on both edges of the valley where erupting volcanoes painted the sky a dull red. The road before them spawned ancient broken pathways that sprawled this way and that on both sides of the valley. Many terminated with entrances into the Earth, with some barred shut with heavy doors, while some were broken down or on their hinges. More warnings, similar to what Lemmy had seen before, were pitched on stakes alongside these paths, their skulls decayed and letters worn. Aside from the sound of nearby eruptions, the valley was quiet.

"They won't move, huh?" asked Lemmy, knowing the answer.

"We are in the King's Rest, sir." said his pilot. "This is where the spirits of the past kings reside."

"Yeah, I know."

The pilot did not respond.

"Why did we stop?" asked Lemmy.

"Our main ground force stopped suddenly." responded the pilot, but he did not explain why.

Taking the hint, Lemmy walked out of the bridge and made his way up a ladder towards the top of the ship. With a lever, a door opened above him and Lemmy climbed out. Straightening himself, he looked over the railing and frowned. All of his ground forces had indeed stopped and were seemingly frozen in place. Looking over on the embankments, Lemmy thought he could see shadowy figures out of the corners of his eyes, but once he turned towards them, they vanished.

"I'm seeing things!" complained a soldier below. Others grit their teeth and tried to stand their ground. "Those are the old kings, alright." said another. "We're not going to last much longer if we stand around like this!"

Lemmy took out the Wand of Koopa again. He never was good at spell chanting and instead relied on what he termed "creative magic." He thought of the construct that he had decided upon before. In an instant, the wand glowed brightly and a large energy field expanded outward from the tip, surrounding Lemmy's ship and eventually his entire army. 

Many ghosts of the kings now came into full view. They were tall and terrible, with many dressed in armor of war, others wielded unsightly weapons and yet others resorted to the magic of the ages. Some could still not be seen, but the objects that they began to hurl towards Lemmy's army announced their presence. They began to slowly make their way towards Lemmy's company, with their weapons harmlessly reflecting off of the energy field.

"Let's keep moving!" announced Lemmy. "As long as we keep moving, we're fine." With shouts of approval from below, Lemmy climbed back down the port hole before closing the cover again. He had to keep the wand out at all times now if he wanted to keep all of his troops alive.

Lemmy walked back into the cockpit and sat back down on his seat. Seeing the ship moving, he guessed the pilots heard his latest proclamation from down the hall. Sighing, Lemmy placed the wand inside a cylinder that sort of resembled a cup holder and looked for his dad's diary again.

"The undead are not giving chase." said one pilot.

"We have an incoming transmission, addressed to your majesty." said the other pilot.

"From who?" Lemmy asked.

"We cannot trace the sender."

Lemmy hummed to himself. What was suspicious was the fact that no one should know where he was at that moment. He had never used this ship before, and it was not wired for external communications except to his own contingency. So magic was involved. The Society? Doubtful. More than likely, it was specifically for him.

"Okay, patch it." A screen lowered from above, temporarily blocking his view to the outside. After a bit of fizzle, a familiar face came into view within a dark room.

"Hi Lemmy." Larry smirked. "I see your game plan. I have some advice before you start."

"Where did you get those horns?" replied Lemmy. "They are like Junior's."

"Long story short, I am King of the Blood." said Larry.

"Is there a difference between that and King of the Koopas?" asked Lemmy.

"I run the family, the other guy runs the kingdom."

"Oh. So wait, Junior's running the kingdom?"

"Yes and no. Let's say he's running the kingdom without my approval. Neither is he a real king yet, but he can wield many of Bowser's powers already which they probably think is a suitable replacement."  
"Replacement?" echoed Lemmy. 

Larry made a face. "You didn't hear what happened?" Lemmy simply shook his head. "Well, there's no easy way of saying it. Bowser's dead."

Lemmy said nothing and stared forward for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. "He was in a battle with Mario in the Mushroom Kingdom," continued Larry, "And a meteor struck the duo. It broke Bowser's shell. I know Ludwig was there at the time and probably has Bowser's last words, but he's being hunted like a dog right now."

Lemmy said nothing.

"I would say more but I'm being monitored right now."

"They killed him." muttered Lemmy.

Larry thought about it for a moment. "You could...say that."

"He wasn't living. None of us were back then. We woke up as he aged, and we realized: this is our life. It is in our hands, we can choose whatever we want to do. But Bowser never saw it that way. Their power over him was too great."

"He did wake up in his final moments." commented Larry.

"Did he? What did he say?" asked Lemmy.

"I don't know. I just saw moments. I was there, but not participating. Ludwig would know."

"Where the goomba is Ludwig anyway?" muttered Lemmy, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't have to come out here if he just took care of Junior. I didn't want to do this in the first place. You know I hate politics."

"Oh, there's more to this than you know." 

"Yeah, I know." He held up Bowser's diary. "He was probably killed by--"

"I know. Like I said, I'm being monitored." reminded Larry. 

"Oh." It took a moment for that realization to sink into Lemmy's mind. "Gotcha. So, your going to tell me your plan while being monitored?"

"Who said I had to tell you with words?" asked Larry. His face suddenly disappeared and in place was a map of the northern Koopa Kingdom, with the Koopa Crags outlining the top. The castle was front and center, and north of this was the entrance to the southern mouth of the valley. The eastern flank of the castle was dotted in brown triangles and lines: the symbolic color of Morton Jr. To the south were multiple colored lines advancing towards the castle. Judging by their colors, they were Junior...Roy and Wendy? That wasn't right. In the far north in the Koopa Crags was a long orange line, Lemmy's current position. 

If the map was correct, then it seemed Roy and Wendy were somehow allied with Junior. But how was that possible? He would be up against more foes than he thought. Lemmy was going to need Morton's help in this if it was to succeed. 

"Before you ask anything, it is the Wand of the Earth." came Larry's voice. "It was how Bowser controlled large armies in the first place. The game plan should be fairly obvious." 

"I still have a trick I could use." said Lemmy. 

"Save it as a surprise." said Larry.

"I know, I know. I know what to do."

"Then I'll leave you to it. Oh, and one more thing."

"Hm?"

"Once you get there, I'll be ready to announce it."

"Hmmm, okay. I'll open everything."

"Good." The screen fizzled and shot back up into the ceiling. Lemmy leaned back and re-thought his strategy as the ship and his army continued down the valley.

Some time past, and it wasn't before long that volcanic plumes were seen hovering low in the sky, blocking their sight in front of them. Lemmy knew they were getting close. 

"We are 10 miles from the castle, your majesty." said his pilot. 

Lemmy got up from his seat and looked out the windows in front of him. The broken pathways had disappeared and the valley had narrowed considerably since then. They were out of the most dangerous parts of the valley.

"Stop everyone." Lemmy ordered. After the ship stopped in place, Lemmy grabbed the radio. "Hey everyone. We're 10 miles from the castle. It doesn't look like it, but it's just past these clouds. We have to use these as cover for now. We may have some allies in the surprise. Let's camp here for now, they won't see us."

Lemmy switched frequency. "Mattison. Take the tree house. Do not respond to mother, I repeat, do not respond to mother."

"Roger that, Duck Hound." A regiment on the ground immediately began to climb the steep slopes with oxygen tanks strapped to their snouts, and they soon disappeared in the clouds of ash.

Lemmy switched frequency again. "Demetrius. Tell Jacob the cheeseburgers are ready. We'll have the ketchup at sundown."

"Roger." Another team, also with oxygen masks then started climbing the other side of the valley until they too disappeared into the clouds. Lemmy put the radio down and smiled. "I guess we have a few hours." he said to himself. He wanted to start this in the evening, and and that was going to catch on soon. 

He looked at the Wand of Koopa behind him, still emitting the aura surrounding his entire party. The trip was not nearly as bad as he thought. Perhaps the wand made the trip far easier than it normally would, but nobody was complaining. For Lemmy, the hard part had not come yet. 

"Can you switch on infrared?" asked Lemmy, taking his seat again. The screen switched to a reddish hue, which allowed him to see through the clouds. Just as he expected, the northern side of the castle was entirely undefended. Most of the defense was to the east, where Morton was camped, seemingly waiting for Junior. 

"The ship can hover just outside the volcanic clouds, right?" asked Lemmy.

"We believe so." said the pilots. "Most of the thrusters are on the belly of the ship, and this ship can cloak as well." Lemmy nodded, and the ship disappeared from view to the outside.

"Let's hit the sack early." said Lemmy, before wandering out of the control room and into the back of the ship towards his bedroom. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

After security gave the signal, the messenger ran into the camp, looking for his recipient. Doding the soldiers and working his way around the artillery, he eventually found it: a large dark tent guarded by two Koopatrols outside within a mock-up courtyard. Stopping, the messenger simply held up a document to their faces and watched whatever surprise he could see in their eyes.

"Your majesty!" shouted the Koopatrol. Inside, Morton Koopa Junior got up from his couch, wrapping fur blankets around him. "Yes, come in!" said Morton. The figure, hooded and cloaked, quickly entered and handed Morton a document.

"What's this?" Morton questioned.

"Tomorrow morning." said the messenger in a raspy voice. "Early." With that, the messenger left as quick as he had entered. After watching him leave, Morton opened the envelope and unfolded a sheet a paper. His expression quickly turned into a smirk. "Really? Hah!" Larry certainly wasn't lying. The takeover of the castle suddenly seemed very possible. Maybe this coup by Junior will finally end and things would return to normal.

"Well, not normal..." Morton muttered to himself, sitting back down. They were past the point of no return. Neither Bowser nor Ludwig were anywhere to be seen, but that didn't stop Morton from trying to set things right. He just hoped this attack would be successful and that Junior would not arrive back at the castle sooner than later. Junior could not be made king, no matter what.


	23. The Great Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crown Prince Lemmy Koopa attacks Bowser's Castle and takes out Junior's administration before a major revelation by Larry Koopa.

The sun passed behind the western crags, twilight setting in. Bowser Koopa Junior finally halted his ruthless march that he had begun earlier that day. Without an airship, he was forced to head back to the castle inside a tank through the city. His new "minions," Roy & Wendy did not have much to offer either, but that did not matter. They may have started their journey on the southern coast, but they have managed to cross nearly the entire distance back to the castle in one day. But Junior was beginning to fall asleep, and wanted to distance himself from his other siblings for a time. 

"Where are we?" asked Junior.

"We have passed the inner wall of the city," said an officer across from him. "And now in the castle rock lands. It is another 4 to 5 hours before we reach the castle. If you wish, we can set up camp here tonight and guard the wall."

Junior nodded and made no objections. The tank, with Junior's surviving military personnel strolled along the official paved path towards the front gate of the castle. After some time, the path deviated onto a dirt road for about a mile, reaching a military encampment. With the tank finally stopped, Junior opened the porthole and hopped out. He looked towards the castle and wondered if he should have kept going, considering the threat of Morton. But his slow and sleepy head told him otherwise.

His siblings climbed out of the porthole in turn, and as if in a trance, moved themselves to their respective tents. Seemingly sensing Junior's uneasiness, an officer came up and saluted to him.

"What about Morton?" asked Junior.

"He remains camped outside the eastern flank." the officer responded. "He has not moved from his position during the day."

"He wants us to come to him." said Junior. "Fine! He will be an easy catch as it is. Let's have something to eat!" He walked into his tent, impatient for his big day tomorrow, the day when he would officially become the King of the Koopa's.

* * *

A gigantic noise suddenly roused Morton Koopa Junior from his sleep. Opening his eyes he was blinded by a piercing white light. He struggled out of his tent into the dead of night and witnessed something bewildering: on the northern end of the castle was a giant orb of light, surrounded by a deafening noise and was steadily growing in size. By now, the ruckus had awakened most of Morton's troops from sleep and most stared in awe and bewilderment. Soon it enveloped the entire western sky until there was a flash, which in the resulting shockwave nearly knocked everybody over. The light was gone, and the noise was replaced with a dull rumbling of rock. Almost immediately afterwards Morton's whole camp was in an uproar, trying to figure out what had just occurred. It wasn't before long that scouts reported that the entire northern wall of the castle was gone.

"Gone?" Morton asked. "What, did it just disappear?"

"It melted, your majesty. The rest has crumbled. The way is wide open right now."

"Sir! An army has been spotted rushing down from the Valley of the Koopas! They are headed straight towards the castle!"

This caused a smaller uproar in Morton's circle due to its seeming impossibility, but before Morton could say anything he could see them rushing down the valley and into the garden's of the castle. One of the front runners of the army hoisted a large flag, yellow with an orange star in the center.

"Lemmy," laughed Morton, "You son of a bitch." He knew he was coming, after receiving a messenger from him hours earlier. But Morton did not imagine it like this.

Gunfire soon erupted, and Morton knew what he had to do. Turning around he raised his hand to his forces. "Well, that does it! We can't let him take all the glory! Let's bring them down!" Immediately, his soldiers rushed to their weapons and their tanks and began firing at the eastern wall of the castle. Whatever defenses that remained there tried to fire back, but it was clearly a losing battle.

Lemmy's troops were rushing headlong into the gaping northern hole of the castle, some on the lower levels, others climbing over the debris into the upper levels. Many wielded a new weapon that most of the kingdom proper had never seen before until then: an Ice Bill, a bullet bill that freezes an enemy combatant on contact before exploding moments later. Against this the castles defenses similarly melted and the troops quickly made their way into the heart of the castle.

Lemmy Koopa himself made a large leap into one of the upper floors, wielding the Wand of Koopa as he went. Nothing could stand against him, neither Koopatrols nor ball and chain nor Thwomps. It was an easy job, easier than he had expected. He was glad that he had read Bowser's entry about the Wand of Koopa long ago, otherwise he would've never have thought about using it.

Morton's shells rocked the castle, throwing many of the castle guards off their feet. Many asked for the whereabouts of Junior, but it was in the dead of night and few leaders were around to direct them. As their cannons were slowly destroyed, they eventually abandoned their posts, essentially giving the entire eastern wall to Morton's troops. Morton smiled, and wasted no time in telling his men to scale the wall. 

The entire situation happened so quickly that those outside the castle premises could only wonder what on Earth was happening. The castle seemed to be in chaos and many in the outer city, who were awakened by the noise, gossiped amongst themselves about a coup attempt or an earthquake that struck near the castle. Either were fine, as many thought that the Koopa monarchy was responsible for all their troubles. 

Before Junior was even aware of it, Lemmy's troops had surrounded the throne room and forced the surrender of his cabinet. Junior was unable to reach any official within his government and he could only writhe in anger at deciding to stop for the night instead of heading straight back to the castle.

"This is absolutely unacceptable!" shouted Junior, throwing his chalice across the tent. "Who do they think they are? I was chosen to become the next king by pops himself!" He guessed that his siblings were trying to block his ascension to the throne by cutting off the route to the Divine Cathedral. Still, it didn't matter. He would blast right through them.

 _"Wait."_ said a voice.

"Wait? Why should I?" demanded Junior.

 _"One of them has a weapon that outmatches yours. You will not be able to defeat the wielder. Focus on controlling the countryside. We will deal with this."_ Junior's eyes glowed a dull purple before disappearing again. "Very well." acknowledged Junior, and he walked out of the tent to give out his new orders.

* * *

Daybreak. Thousands marched the streets leading to Bowser's Castle, wanting an explanation to the madness. Guards from Roy and Wendy's contingent tried to hold back the tide, but the people had the word then; they broke through all barriers, and escaped the confines of the inner wall. Storming towards the castle, they destroyed anything that was related to Bowser, his children or otherwise. 

Their commotion was heard edging closer within earshot of the castle. Morton, on top a balcony, looked to the south at the oncoming waves of people with a worried expression. He did not expect riots against them to be this bad. He knew the earth changes had wrecked the economy, he knew what was at stake for keeping too much information from others, but Bowser's administration had already done most of the damage. They wanted change, and they wanted it now.

Morton turned back towards the throne room. His guards had replaced Junior's regiment that he had left behind, whom were now imprisoned. Otherwise there were no one else in the room save for one. Seated like a child sitting on a chair too big for him was Lemmy Koopa. His claws were folded in front of him and he stared forward with a serious expression. It was certainly one of those lifetime moments, at least to Morton: Lemmy, being serious. Then again, life was like some disaster movie these days.

"You raise your flag and you have the whole kingdom coming to your doorstep." remarked Morton, speaking about the flag that now flew from the highest spire of Bowser's Castle. Junior's green and yellow flag had been replaced by Lemmy's yellow and orange not too long ago.

"It's not me." said Lemmy.

"Yeah right! You know the commoners like you the most. So they know you'll give them the honest answer to everything."

"That's not it." said Lemmy, looking up. "I think they want me to dissolve the monarchy."

"Yeah, like...wait, really?" 

"I can't do that right now." Indeed, even if Lemmy wanted to dissolve Bowser's former cabinet that now lay locked in the lower dungeon levels and abolish the monarchy, and replace it with a citizen run government, the Society would win it all. There would be no stopping them.

"You know..." Morton said, half to himself. "...we could get away clean with that."

"Huh?"

"If we abolish the monarchy and let these guys take care of themselves, we wouldn't get any of the blame for king dad's shit. Plus, we could just slip away into our safe areas and nobody would notice because they're all focused on their government and all that. Actually, that's a great idea!"

"I've thought about it. There's just one very small problem." said Lemmy.

"What?"

"We are up against a huge force that everyone else has no chance against. They don't even know who they are."

Suddenly, there was a sound of a weapon dropping, then footsteps hurrying out of the chamber. Morton immediately suspected the worst. "After him!" he ordered, and several guards hurried out of the room. "I've got moles." Morton muttered to himself. 

"Wait a sec." The whole situation gave Lemmy an idea. Snapping his finger, his aide was immediately next to him. 

"Those security cams around the castle, they still work, right?"

"I believe so, sir." he said.

"Can you zoom on the crowd, and get me a tablet or something so I can see them." Lemmy ordered, and the aide was off.

"You think this is set up?" asked Morton.

"I have a lot of supporters, but not a whole kingdom." commented Lemmy. "That's a lot of people wanting answers from me." There was silence for a little while, until a tablet was handed to Lemmy. On it was a picture from the top of a spire. Lemmy zoomed in the camera to a section of the mob. It was a huge mix between left idealists and right conservatists and everyone else in between, but one person caught his eye. He was wearing a hat and an ear piece or some kind. Zooming in closer, Lemmy could make out the logo of Roy Koopa on the knob.

Morton took a peek. "You should play poker sometime." he joked. "You'd probably cause an uproar all around the table."

"I don't know, Roy's doing a much better job." Lemmy mused. "On the orders of Junior of course. And I don't think he even made those orders." He sighed. "Man, it's not right to control people like that."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Morton. 

Lemmy said nothing, but continued to fiddle with the tablet.

"You can make a speech, and they could snipe you. You could run, but they know where you came from now. I bet there's anti-air everywhere too. You're on a huge powder keg, buddy."

"Only I set the bombs off." commented Lemmy, and Morton laughed. "Trust me, they wont get in here. No one will. We stay where we are."

"Sure, say that now. That mob is not going away by itself, controlled or not." 

"Dude, Morton, you know I'm not king material."

"Yeah well, we still have to follow the code." said Morton. "Whether we like it or not, you're second oldest. Bowser's not here, so it's Ludwig. Ludwig's not here, so it's you. Simple as that."

Lemmy said nothing at the mention of Bowser's name.

"I still think you did the right thing." said Morton, trying to cheer him up. "You have to claim your place, or they run you over. You're defending your spot, and that's something to be proud of."

Lemmy stared at the tablet and did nothing. "Bowser's dead."

Morton looked at him, not sure if he had heard that correctly. "What?"

"You heard me." Lemmy said, shooting him a glare. Morton was speechless. The noise had picked up, and their shouting could he heard through the castle walls. 

"H-how..?"

"A meteor. It got Mario too. Ludwig saw the whole thing...or so I'm told." He looked at the balcony. "Too bad he's being hunted like an animal. So what if Ludwig can't be molded like Bowser? He would be a far better pick than me." He covered his eyes. "Why did he leave me with this mess?"

"I...don't think he intended to. I didn't intend Bowser to die without his wand." He paused. "He can't be resurrected without the wand, right?"

"Right," replied Lemmy, "And it's called Wand of the Earth."

"Is there a difference?" muttered Morton.

"Death to King Bowser!" was suddenly heard, coming from outside. It was still a little far, but audible. Similar chants were similarly heard, but they called for all sorts of demands. "Bring Junior back!" "Lay the king to rest!" "Give us the reigns!" were but a few.

"Your majesty!" A door to Lemmy's right opened, and in came several of his henchmen, carrying what appeared to be a large black stand made of stone, with its legs sculpted into dark spirals. Another held a large bright orb of some type. "Yes, put it in the center so I can see him." the globe suddenly said. The voice was familiar.

They placed the stand in front of Lemmy, and carefully placed the globe on top. Sure enough, it was Larry's mug, who was looking a little impatient. "Hello again, Lemmy." The henchmen saluted and quickly scuffled off. "Or, should I say, Crown Prince Lemmy."

"More like Clown Prince." stated Lemmy as a matter of fact, "And I am not king material."

"Then why did you decide to make that move?" questioned Larry. "It is a kingly move for sure."

"I'm buying--" he stopped short. "No, they can see you. Never mind."

"They can't listen through the globes." said Larry. "Only through modern communications, like the Internet, cell phones and so on. That's why I want to talk to you with this."

Lemmy nodded. "Alright." He turned towards Morton and made a gesture. Morton looked up at the second floor overlooking the chamber and understood. "Guard! Station 2!" he ordered. Stamping their heels, they turned and all walked out of the many doors lining the room and closed them shut.

"I told them to guard this room from the entrances." stated Morton.

"Good." said Larry. "They will try to use moles to hear your plans, without a doubt. Sabotage even, so you have to keep an eye on them. Now Lemmy, you can tell me whatever it is you want to tell me."

"I'm buying time for Ludwig." Lemmy said flatly. "He can't get through this by himself. I don't think anybody can."

"Anyone short of a controlled puppet king." exclaimed Larry. "But as you know, Ludwig is being hunted with the intent to kill, so you will have to do his jobs for the time being. It sucks, but it's your position."

"I don't want to interrupt," said Morton, "But where did you get those horns? And where can I get some?"

Larry sighed, already getting tired of explaining himself. "I am the King of the Blood now, and I'm in charge of the family at large. There's two wands, the other is the Wand of the Earth, which is in charge of the kingdom. You probably know it as the 'Wand of the Koopas.' Bowser had it, now Junior has it."

"Why would Bowser do something like that? It's idiotic!" mouthed Morton. Lemmy and Larry looked at each other.

"I'll tell you later." said Lemmy. "I need to to do something about this mob, or they will try to storm this place for sure."

"That's the other reason. You need to speak to them, but you wont have to do it for long. I'm going to take care of the rest for you."

"So you are going to do it." said Lemmy.

"Junior's cards need to be placed on the table. After all, I didn't choose him to begin with. They did, and I would rather choose Ludwig for the spot."

"Wait, you can choose who will become king?" asked Morton. 

"Yes I can. I have already picked him. We need to make sure Junior does not access the Divine Cathedral to complete the ceremony. He may have the wand, but he hasn't gone through the rites."

"Then why does he have horns already?" asked Morton. "You know, I've always wondered that."

Larry rubbed his eyes. "Because he is a clone."

"Hah! I knew it!" 

"Anyways, make your speech soon. Don't say anything about that organization. Just tell them that we would like to make an announcement or something like that, and I'll take to the air. And Morton? Would you mind helping with that?"

Morton grunted. "Depends. What do you plan on saying?"

Larry smiled. "Everything. They're going to know everything."

"What? Are you serious? That's the best way to minimize our chances!"

"Come on, Morton. You know you can say something a different way, and have it interpreted in another. Out of all people, you should know this."

Morton grunted again.

"If we say we're responsible, then that would be political suicide. However, if we point the blame to something already burning, like Bowser's reputation, then it's not so bad."

"In a way." admitted Morton. 

"Or you don't have to blame anyone." Lemmy pointed out.

"That's true. It depends on the reaction at that point. We'll see." He paused. "Alright, I'll leave you to it. What about you Morton?"

Morton sighed and looked around. He was clearly not in agreement but his gut told him otherwise. "You know, my mind hates this. But Bowser always said to trust your gut, so I will. I can get you on KoopTV easy enough, but I don't know about the other stations: I'm trapped in here after all. I'll align the stations to transmit from Genlic. It'll move some of my satellites and you can work whatever magic you have from there." He turned to leave. "Let's hope you're not wrong and this castle isn't looted in an hour." He exited the room, shutting the door behind him. The voices were now in the central courtyard, given away by their close proximity. 

After a moment, Lemmy got up. "How do I shut this off?" 

"Oh right, only kings can issue connections." muttered Larry. "It's a one way call. I'll cut it off. If you have anything to protect yourself with, I'd use it."

"I know." said Lemmy, briefly revealing the Wand of Koopa in his shell. "Take care." He couldn't find any more words to say. Larry's face disappeared and the globe faded to black. 

And with that, Lemmy slowly walked forward towards the balcony, almost amusing to himself with the debris that filled the air outside. To him, it felt like a death march and he didn't want to imagine the many ways he could die out there. Mobs were unruly and illogical, driven by the animal instinct. That was the first thing to be calmed, Lemmy had decided. All he had for protection was the Wand of Koopa. He needed to keep his faith on the device, like he did with the Valley of the Koopas. 

Lemmy passed through the balcony archway and heard the noise ascend to deafening levels. As he approached the outer railing, his eye suddenly darted: a sniper was hidden behind a rock alcove. His wand was working wonders again. It darted again: two, no three. Five. Six. Seven. Seven snipers. No, eight. Eight snipers had their targets on him already. It seemed they were intent on bringing down whomever decided to step outside, regardless on who it was.

Noticing that he had stopped, he started walking again and a roar suddenly filled the skies. He stopped at the railing and just looked at the crowd. He knew some faces from one of his rallies, but there many people of all types there. Many were jeers, others were boos, most were cries of illogical anger. They had enough of their lifestyles under the dictatorship of Bowser, they had enough of the unemployment and decrease in the standard of living, they had enough of the lies. 

But Lemmy said nothing. He stared at the mob, studying it. There were tens of thousands pouring in, and yet they only managed to get one of the courtyard gates open. It was from this that the majority were now entering from. 

Many were now chanting for Lemmy to speak, with others mocking him for his lack of performance. Lemmy smiled at all of it. First thing was first.

"Open the gates." he commanded, his voice echoing clearly across the courtyard. "All of them. Everybody should hear this."

Those struggling to open the gates at the other entrances found themselves surprised and suspicious when they opened effortlessly. Many were suspicious that Lemmy was planning a trap for all of them, and many refused to moved much further from the gates themselves. 

A bigger mob was soon congregated together, and Lemmy knew he was dealing with tens of thousands, if not perhaps closer to one hundred thousand people, many staying in the streets leading up to the castle and unable to get in. Their lines extended all the back to the city. But he could see movie and TV crews piling in, some with television sets for those who could not see Lemmy up close. Lemmy knew Morton was working his magic.

At length, Lemmy leaned on the railing and looked below. "Life is hard, isn't it?" This caused an uproar, much of it against Lemmy for being posh and insensitive. "It goes for everyone. That includes me too. Life isn't fair. You try to get your dreams to come true, about a cleaner world, a world with no war, and you have these...assholes, always putting you down."  
He saw the snipers already locking on to him.

"Yeah, things are bad down here, and that's why I'm here. Everything has gotten out of control lately. Why? Why did I come down here and take Bowser's Castle?" He turned and looked at the castle, pausing for a moment before pointing his finger at it. "Because ladies and gentlemen, this castle is empty! There is no king, for King Bowser Koopa is dead."

Shouting erupted almost immediately, but Lemmy continued. "That's the next thing. Yes, there's a succession war happening right now. That was what that loud flash was all about last night. I got into the castle. Frankly, the world needs someone better. I'm not saying it's me, honestly I'd rather not become the next king." His fan base was hurt by this announcement, and pleaded with him otherwise. "The world needs a leader who can face the challenges that are ahead of us, not a dictator or a money grabber. This world is corrupt and needs some honest answers, and I've gotten tired of seeing my father's administration of keeping the truth to their chest. I'm sick and tired of it. Are you?"

Suddenly, a shot went off. But it deflected off of Lemmy's shield, which briefly shone for a second before disappearing. The mob went wild and some had begun to disperse. Lemmy was fine, but suddenly an inner confidence grew in him.

"I'm fine." he announced. "But I'm a bit underwhelmed. I knew someone would try to kill me, just to cause disorder and ruin whatever is left of this kingdom. But I'm not going to allow it." Lemmy saw at the corner of his eye a gunmen being pulled down from his embankment by several people and beaten to death. He shook his head. "I invite you all to stay, despite the bad intentions some people have. Don't worry, they can't kill me."

Lemmy noticed that some of the televisions had started to fuzz and go erratic. He guessed the worst. "Now, it seems like someone is trying to mess up the feed." It stopped abruptly. "Ah, much better. As you can see, our enemies are dedicated. But that doesn't stop me from trying to get the word out."

He inhaled. "And I have another word to say. A big announcement. It's something that I think...will be better explained by someone who has more authority than I do, but I'll just say this. It was all done against our will, against me and against most of my family. With Bowser gone, it is now possible to share this with you all. Ladies and gentlemen, the King of the Blood, Larry Koopa."

All of the televisions switched to static for a moment until the face of Larry Koopa suddenly appeared, filling the screens. Lemmy saw a handful of people creep their way out of the courtyard at the sight, but many people surprisingly gave him an applause, perhaps out of respect. But most others were quiet, sensing some unexplainable doom coming over them.

"Welcome, citizens of the Koopa Kingdom. I want to thank you for trying to understand what is occurring, as there is a lot happening right now. But first, I want to answer a question that many of you probably have. And that is "If you're in charge of the royal family, why not just appoint a new King of the Earth yourself? That is your responsibility, isn't it?"

Larry smiled. "I've heard this question more than once. The truth is, my efforts are being blocked due to the succession wars. Prince Lemmy had the intention of trying to settle this matter himself, and I have to thank him for trying to end this needless battle. These wars are nothing new, as historians know. "They have raged on ever since the beginnings of our race. But, I am not of like mind. If we are to evolve as a race , then these wars need to come to an end. Not easy for our greed and our pride. But I have something else to share that will perhaps make my opponents reconsider their decisions.

"As all of you are aware, our planet is undergoing dramatic changes that are seemingly unexplainable. Strange weather, strange noises, an abundance of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, shore erosion, disappearance of entire islands, signs in the sky, the list goes on. All of this is affecting the economy and our standard of living and there is not a corner anywhere in Koopa City not affected by it. There is not a corner in the world that's not affected by it.

"Those who believe they know the answer have taken to the Internet to explain their theories, and many of these have caught on in rising popularity against the official explanation of King Bowser's administration. I declare that explanation, that of an increase in the sun's temperature, officially null and void. Why? Because it is not true. It was a shame that my father could never swallow his pride and bring himself to admit the truth. He had hid the truth for too long and his fear of shame was too great. But it is also true, that all of us do this on a daily basis in one way or another. It is time to put this to an end, and be more honest with ourselves and each other. I will start by describing the greatest cover-up in the history of this planet.

"Out of all the conspiracies that mingle together in the information world, there is one that is absolutely true, and that is why it was never covered in the media. That's why it was put down, at times ruthlessly, by my father's administration. It spells the end of the world as we know it, but it also spells the end for those still clinging to power and to their material wealth. People in power cannot imagine a life without it, it is said, but it is only true to those who are too selfish and narrow minded to know otherwise. I am under the impression that the common citizen, you, knows better. That is why you deserve to know what is occurring around you. That's why all of you deserve to know.

"So, what is it?" He paused for a moment. "If you guessed the return of Naru, you are correct." The screen split in half, showing the known solar system and a picture of the Great Destroyer. "The planet known as Naru has returned to the solar system, following it's 3,600 year cycle across are binary star system. It is well known in ancient legends as causing a number of catastrophes, as outlined within the Koopahari scriptures. Most people in the past brushed these off as fairy tales, as something unbelievable. Perhaps that is a flaw in our nature as a race, but nevertheless it was a mistake. What these stories claim are a truth to a point. This includes the great flood that occurred 4 ages ago. 

"When the planet Naru approaches our world, we become halted within her orbit, and magnetically our crust becomes attracted to her presence. Because of this attraction, neither world is able move and since our world is smaller, we are essentially the loser. What I just described above is all due to Naru halting our orbit and jerking us in place, trying to wedge our planet out of its own path. And Naru will finally achieve this when our crust detaches from the core, which is the basis of crustal displacement or better known in the ancient days as a pole shift. The crust slides under the ocean, which floods all the coastlines around the world, drowning cities and entire kingdoms. Plates slam into each other, creating mountains and volcanoes. Others sub duct, drowning and raising islands. It is a time when everything levels out. All the material corruption will be gone, but the survivors will have to start from scratch again. 

"I myself am not a scientist, and after this speech I will have someone explain more of the specifics to you, but I have outlined the basics of what is coming. Given how destructive a pole shift can be, it was often equated to the end of the world in ancient sources. But that is not entirely true. This planet will still survive. Our civilizations may fold and crumble, but if we survive and can still walk on our feet, we can begin again. It is a great opportunity to teach selflessness and to help one another through this. I can only hope that the next King of the Earth will be of like mind. The last thing this kingdom needs is to destroy itself in the face of annihilation.

My enemies may retaliate against this announcement. It is unavoidable, in a way. I ask that you remain vigilant, and do not tolerate any harassment that they try to force you under. The people deserve freedom, and you deserve it.

Thank you, and may the Creator bless us all."

Larry's face disappeared and a scientist popped up on screen to explain the specifics. Most people looked stunned, glued to the screens and not sure what to think. A great wave of relief swept over Lemmy, as that terrible secret was no longer a secret he had to keep to himself. Smiling, he wondered what he could try to implement before Junior would try his next move on him, whatever it may be.


	24. Falling Deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The Society" takes control of Larry Koopa and all the surrounding Koopa Kingdom, forcing Ludwig to make his move.

"And what of it?" asked the head priest, entirely unconcerned.

"Bowser's lineage believes they can do as they wish." said a priest behind him. "They do not realize that such actions have a price."

"Precisely. Perhaps the assassination of one of their own could bring them to order." suggested another, but the head priest was not of like mind. 

"Our hands are still hidden in shadow." smiled the head priest. "What has occurred was but a possible future surmised in the doctrine. And we have prepared for every future. This is similar to the one scryed by Dinasus an age ago." Walking to a stone bookshelf, he pressed in a stone upon the outer architecture and the whole shelf receded back into a hidden alcove. In its former place rose a stone platform which housed a long, strange device in the center covered with a purple cloth.

"But how can we prepare for the Wand of Koopa?" asked the first priest. "We are powerless against it."

The head priest continued to smile, taking off the cloth and examining the device. "There are ways."

"Is that not why we buried it long ago in the north?" asked another priest. 

"It was a mistake to have that child settle there." scoffed the second priest. "We should have pressed Kamek when we had the chance."

"And like all children, they will be humbled before their guardians." said the head priest, lifting up the device. It was black and purple device, vaguely resembling a wand of some kind. But it's outer circumference seemed to indicate something a little more modern. Confident, he turned around to his fellow priests to have them look. The Vice, or the second in command, looked at it with a rather snobbish expression.

"The Wand of Telxin..." he started, "...yes, it has helped us a great deal in accomplishing our purposes. But it's power is passive, as decided by the 360th council. Do you plan otherwise?"

"Indeed, my old friend." answered the head priest as he walked to the worship circle in the middle of the room. "Telxin and all the heirs after him have been under our control for generations. For fools begot fools, and desire power without consequence." He placed the device in the middle of the circle and immediately the device seemed to clamp itself to the structure as if it had a mind of its own. A purple light shone through that black darkness, showing that it was ready.

"It is a shame that it has come to this," continued the head priest, "for our kingdom must be ruled peacefully with a guiding hand, not with shocking bombast. And now, we must all gently guide those to keep our kingdom intact."

"You mean to control everyone covertly?!" asked a startled priest.

"It is the only way now." said the Vice. "Otherwise we will be ill prepared for the arrival of our masters. They will not be pleased to see their slaves not in total control, and we may lose power."

"Indeed. But before we begin," said the head priest, smiling, "Let us rectify the cause before the effect."

* * *

Mona cut out another wedge of her chocolate chip bacon pancakes and took a bite. It was another typical morning at Eternal Fortress Genlic and Kooper was going over the usual statistics. It was the beginning to another busy day and Mona almost wished she could have an energy drink, but she knew better. Everyday was busy for her thanks to all the demands placed upon her, and this in part was helping her get over the death of Wario. With floors of gardens to take care of and running a pizza shop on her own, things looked better than they did before.

Well, they almost were. For some reason, Larry Koopa did not show up on time for the meeting. This put all of his responsibilities on her (being the Vice Chair of the survival group inside Genlic), and she was forced to respond to a bunch of questions and many of them she did not know the answer to. At first, Mona figured that Larry had decided to sleep late and she tried to continue the usual morning routine without him. But now a half an hour had gone by and she started to worry. She sipped on some orange juice and glanced at his empty seat for a moment.

"Has anyone seen Larry yet?" she asked openly.

"Hmmm...not that I know of." replied Kooper, looking through a clipboard. "I still say he overslept again."

"Well, I'm going to go check up on him. You're almost done anyways, right?"

"Yeah." Kooper bit into a biscuit. "Well, besides that whole moss problem."

Mona stood up and finished her last slice before heading out of the room from where Larry usually came in. She had been down the hallway once before, during the other time when Larry refused to get up. No one else wanted to bother themselves in trying to find his quarters, so after a bit of exploring she had found it by accident. Larry had a tendency to be lazy in the mornings.

Stepping onto the circular lift, it lifted her up several floors before stopping. She walked out of the room and into hallway when she abruptly stopped.

There in the middle of the hall was a strange crystal structure, floating above the floor. Inside of it a strange darkness whirled about, and it was some time before Mona found the courage to move closer. Soon it became obvious who was inside of it, frozen as if in suspended animation.

"Oh shit.." she muttered, and immediately run back towards the elevator. "Hey, all of you guys! Get up here NOW! Emergency!" she shouted. Inhaling, she ran back and pounded her fist on the crystal. "Hey! Larry! You hear me?" But it was useless. He did not respond, and continued to gaze out the windows towards the western horizon.

As Mona followed his stare, it was then that she noticed a growing cloud of darkness growing to the north, inside of the Koopa Kingdom. What she saw next was something she was unprepared for.

"Oh...my god..."

* * *

It was a dark and quiet room, save for the dull hum of the engines that permeated throughout the submarine. At 1600 feet below sea level, one was almost guaranteed quiet and secrecy. With the hull built from nano bots designed to absorb all magic and to cloak one's magic signature with ease, the HCS Amadeus was certainly one of the better achievements of Ludwig Von Koopa. Formally known as the Doom Sub, it had been refitted years prior and tested in a number of stealth experiments against Bowser's own henchmen, preparing for a day when Ludwig would have to fight his late father Bowser for the throne. He was most fortunate that never came to pass.

Now fast asleep with his girlfriend Kylie Koopa, he knew that no one would be able to detect them, aside from those determined to chase him down. Perhaps they were "The Society" that his father had mentioned before his death. He believed the story, after witnessing strange peculiarities during his long stint as Crown Prince of the Koopa Kingdom. However, he didn't nearly have enough information. This, plus the fact that he was being hunted down by an unknown party (presumably the Society) made him delay his advance towards the throne. He had wondered if they knew who he was to begin with, but also knew they had no way of verifying. In the meantime, he decided to try to enjoy what little pleasures were left before his big move.

Ludwig rolled over and spooned his girlfriend with a sigh of contentment. Not long after this came a siren. He was up almost immediately, scrambling to get his bathrobe on. An emergency had been declared and he was needed on the bridge. Then came a loud knock on his door. 

"Sir! Major emergency! The entire Koopa Kingdom is under attack!"

"What?!" He opened the door. "By whom?"

"We don't know, your majesty."

Kylie struggled to open her eyes. "What?" was all she could mutter: she had too much to drink the night before. But Ludwig and the crew member were already running down the hallway. 

"What do you mean "I don't know?" retorted Ludwig. "The attacker should be plainly obvious to any casual observer! Did you happen to scry out a flag or-"

"They are not troopa's, sir!" said the shocked cadet. "They are...we don't know. They've never been identified. There's so many of them, and I've never seen any of them in all my years of cadet service."

"...what could be occurring?" was all Ludwig managed to say before they reached the bridge of the submarine. The operators were all in a panic with most of them typing away at their consoles and shouting back and forth. Others could not stop looking at what was in front them. One of the sub's drones had surfaced and was filming the Koopa Kingdom offshore. Great dark, purplish clouds had covered the entire kingdom, blotting out whatever light was available to it. While this was more characteristic of a imminent invasion by Bowser, the reason seemed more ominous. Great creatures were seen roaming the coastlines. Some were climbing the skyscrapers, needlessly smashing windows and eating any denizen unfortunate enough to come near. Others flew in the sky: great beasts that had 3 eyes, a long narrow mouth packed with teeth and a serpent like shape, circling around people who were trying to flee their terror. Most however were already on the ground. Some were these large beasts with bulging eyeballs and huge, long faces with skin hanging from their chins. Everywhere they went they shook the ground, which seemed to cause more than just minor quakes. In the far distance, more beasts were seen coming from the mountains, mostly two footed creatures that stormed towards the city, including Bowser's Castle.

"...what." was all Ludwig could say. It was as if he had walked into a nightmare. He had seen none of the creatures before and they were numerous, roaming the streets and seemingly taking control of them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a creature that looked familiar work it's way behind a hillside. Over 20 feet tall with curled horns and a large snout, it was the spitting image of a devil bent on destruction, and a flashback briefly hit Ludwig before he winced in pain.

"What do we do?" asked the cadet.

"I have no idea!" said one of the controllers.

"I was asking the captain!" responded the cadet. But Ludwig merely sat down in his chair and held his head, ignoring the rest of the commotion. He remembered that one. It was the same thing he saw in his youth. One of their creatures. It was so powerful that it knocked him unconscious and nearly killed him. Bowser was forced to take it head on, he was told. But after that day, Ludwig did not see him again until 3 months after the crowning, when Lemmy was born. He thought little of it at the time, and surmised it was related to state duty. But after what happened in the Mushroom Kingdom just days ago...

"Um, what's this?" asked a sleepy Kylie, not fully believing it. "Am I seeing things right, and the Kingdom just got invaded by a bunch of giant creatures for absolutely no reason?" 

"Punishment, no doubt." said one operator. "The gods have punished us. First Naru comes back, then they strip us to nothing. I told you it's all true."

Ludwig looked forward. That was it, the cover up. But this was more than just Bowser. What Larry did was a major favor, and Ludwig could not thank him enough for it. It forced his opponents to recalculate their positions and put him in a better political light. In fact, Lemmy had canceled his arrest warrant soon after the announcement. But this? There was no way Junior could pull this off. All of this brought Ludwig back to Bowser's last words. He had rumor of a society that guided the actions of his father, but none of Ludwig's spies ever uncovered anything. 

"Junior is within that belligerence..." Ludwig said to himself. "This is not his work." It couldn't be anybody else. He needed more information, but sending out any transmissions could very well compromise his position. The only potential route would be through magic, and even that was sketchy. He turned to Kylie.

"There is a persistent rumor in my family concerning our power." he said quietly. "It began in the days of my grandfather Morton. While under the despotic rule of King Wolfgang, he received the diary of an ancestor of mine. Seemingly pretentious, it was all but ignored until the sudden assassination of Wolfgang by an unknown hand. With a newfound perspective, he gained an understanding of what the words were attempting to convey. It is unfortunate that his revolution never saw his goal manifest into existence. It is rumored by my associates that Bowser would attempt to carry on the mission." Ludwig paused. "Something went wrong, if that was the case."

Kylie looked up. "Yeah, somethings wrong with this picture. Your brother makes his speech and suddenly someone's got their thumb on it. Now why would they do that?"

"I understand. But I have no information concerning the party involved in the attack. I cannot make a move until then."

"Those guys are going to be loco by then." countered Kylie, looking at the operators. 

"Much of the population is at the moment, I would imagine." said Ludwig. But little did they know that this was just the beginning. At that moment, a bright light shone in the distance, around Bowser's Castle. Growing, it engulfed the entirety of the castle and it seemed to attract many of the creatures towards it. Despite their effort, they could not penetrate that light. Instead, the closer they got, the more pain they felt until their skin and flesh melted away behind them, leaving nothing but skeletons that fell harmlessly to the ground.

"I would advise everyone that the light is undeniably emanating from some machination of Lemuel Koopa." stated Ludwig. "Essentially the same machination that was put forth earlier."

"What is it?" asked Kylie.

"It is white magic." responded Ludwig. "Extremely potent white magic. It is something our family was forbidden to learn. Kamek feverishly forbade any studying of the white spell tomes in our youth. It seems as though Lemuel has some knowledge of it, but what device he is using to conjure up this current manifestation, I do not know." He paused for a moment. "Indubitably, the more important question is essentially, 'What now?'"

"You can't fight Junior now." mentioned Kylie. 

"Considering the improbability of Junior conjuring an army from the lower hells, Junior for the moment is irrelevant." said Ludwig. "I myself am convinced that Larry has triggered something catastrophic." He sat up. "Please open a channel to King Larry. Encrypt the transmission with the interweaving cryptographic layer that was most recently installed."

"...very well." one of the operators managed to respond. The screen in the center blanked for a moment, and then there was pitch black. No picture came through.

"Strange." Ludwig muttered. The video feed was working correctly and from Ludwig's glance, the transmission was not hijacked. He considered something wrong on the other end when he noticed a foaming darkness, rolling like clouds near the edges of the screen. Some of them suddenly rolled out and crawled along the steel walls surrounding the screen. Ludwig, upon realizing what was occurring went wide eyed and stood up immediately.

"Kill it!!!" he shouted. Immediately the transmission was cut, but the black clouds that escaped continued to swirl outwards and one made its way towards one of the operators. A young koopa troopa, he took notice and immediately bolted from his chair and looked to run, but Ludwig was one step ahead of him. Blue beams went this way and that, and each cloud upon being hit was spun upon itself. Soon, all of the clouds spired themselves into nothingness until all that was left were the stained walls surrounding the middle screen, which were now pitch black.

"That was a demonstration of extremely potent black magic." grumbled Ludwig. "Needless to say, this is extremely unfortunate."

"Maybe someone tapped into the line?" suggested the cadet.

"I didn't detect anything." said one operator.

"Indeed, for the problem lies with Larry." said Ludwig, sitting back down. "There is only one possible conclusion: he is engulfed by black magic." He sighed. "It is a shame he never discussed his newfound position beforehand. Otherwise, these events may have played out differently. This has now convinced me that Junior is in no way responsible for this animosity. Even Bowser himself would be ill-equipped with such knowledge. The magic that surrounds Larry may very well manipulate the rest of my family, given his exalted position."

"Then what do we do?" asked Kylie. There was silence for a moment. "Cause if he's commanding Junior now, not out of free will or anything--"

"That is a piece of the puzzle." said Ludwig. "But the whole picture, the collage of powers swirling about, it echoes absolute control. My father used to practice this during his later kingship, but this current dilemma is much worse. It is deliberate."

"Why would anybody want to control the world like this?" asked Kylie, unable to help herself. But Ludwig did not have a response. He could say something about the collection of rumors he has piled together over the past few decades, but none of them were confirmed to be facts. He needed facts and he needed them now. Otherwise, they were charting blind and who knew what this unknown enemy was capable of? He thought for a moment, well aware of his limitations in communications and how it might be bypassed. This was when one of the bigger rumors came to light, and he became intensely curious.

Ludwig got up. "I shall attempt a solution to push us from this current debacle, but the methods used are a state secret, so I must depart the bridge." He turned to Kylie. "If you will." he said, before turning to the exit.

"I could." she said coyly.

"It would be most appreciated." he said before opening the door and walking out of the room. Kylie huffed to her self. "Even though I know nothing about this stuff, sure, why not?" Although, on second thought, she realized that she could snoop on some of his stuff and felt better about it.

Ludwig walked to the end of the hall and slipped into a room on his right. Shutting the door, he ignited the mimicry of a fireplace before taking a seat in a large plush chair. He pulled out the Wand of Bowser that was given to him just days ago. It was a long, grayish stone piece with a large red ruby set on its end. Just below this were 4 busts of Bowser's head, circling around below the circumference. The wand was surrounded with rumors, but one stood out in Ludwig's mind: that of secret compartments that enabled Bowser to do various things. He never got the time to examine the wand since his departure form the Mushroom Kingdom: plagued by attacks and deep mines dropped by an unknown enemy, he was forced into finding a good hiding spot. But now that he was confident the same enemy was invading the Koopa Kingdom and that the attacks on him had slowed significantly, he decided to take a risk of exposure.

Ludwig turned the wand and inspected the various features carved into it. They were rock solid, and nothing pushed in or made a noise. It wasn't until he touched one of the eyes of Bowser that he had found something. With his claw, he slid the fake eye aside and found a red button. Well aware of the intents of such a button, he decided it was not what he was looking for. But getting the idea, he slid the eye back into place and tried the other eye: nothing. Turning the wand to the next face, he found another fake eye and slid it aside: this time a yellow button. So the rumor was undoubtedly true, the question was now their purpose. A yellow button could be many things and Ludwig was looking for a specific color. Sliding the eye back into place, he checked the third head and sure enough, another fake eye. This one yielded a blue button, and Ludwig smiled gleefully. The rumor was true and it made sense. There was no other easy way to communicate with him from long distances.

He pressed it. Nothing happened for a moment, and then the ruby glowed before emanating a spherical gray light above it. As the sphere focused in, an old Koopa with a long blue hood was seen in place, donning round spectacles that essentially defined his person.

"Yes your majesty, how may I...Ludwig? What has happened to Bowser?" asked a surprised Kamek. 

"Kamek," said Ludwig. "Your assistance is requested once again. Bowser has passed, mortally wounded in a meteor shower a few days past."

Kamek stared at him for a moment, then hung his head. "Rest in piece, my lord." After a moment he looked back at Ludwig. "This is terrible news. This must be why I have been unable to detect his wand as of late, as he must have given it to you."

"Precisely. It is being contained within a large apparatus dubbed the Amadeus, the exact reason why no other person can detect my location, aside from the unknown party attempting to assail me. But now the whole kingdom is in peril, and I must request your assistance in liberating it from this plague, and of the provocateurs that caused this."

"I have seen dark clouds to my north on my journey." mentioned Kamek. "And I had guessed the worst. Surely, they would not have tolerated the open truth for long, and it was a grave error by Larry I'm afraid. Brave, but foolish."

"Define 'they'." demanded Ludwig. "I need to obtain all I can about them."

"Yes, you do." Kamek said, agreeing. "Though it is unfortunate that our time is limited. I had set out on my last quest to tie up a few...strings I failed to tie in the past, and it may prove to be my undoing. But I cannot ignore this, it would be irresponsible of me. As you may of guessed, Junior is now under the control of the UmNaru."

"So that is their name?" asked Ludwig.

"Indeed. And Larry is under their control as well, which has far reaching consequences. Using the Blood Wand, they can control members of your family and will stop at nothing at complete domination. With Junior's Earth Wand, they will be able to control the common population and if left unchecked, will control almost everything. You must act as soon as possible. What do you have in mind, in regards to countering them?" asked Kamek, adjusting his glasses.

Ludwig thought for a moment. "I had originally conceived of a land based invasion, using the vehicles which I now possess to roll across the land unopposed. However, that is no longer an option and a different tactic must be utilized. In order to best gauge their offensive, I will need to know what the UmNaru possess in order to counter them."

"They own far more than you know." said Kamek. "They possess immeasurable magic capabilities across nearly the entire spectrum. They are weak to white magic, which I imagine is one reason why the castle is glowing at the moment." Kamek scratched his chin. "Perhaps its the Wand of Koopa. That would be upsetting for them."

"And that is?"

"The wand used by the founder of our race, named only Koopa." responded Kamek. "It is capable of magic across the entire spectrum, and it seems that somebody has retrieved it from the far north where it was buried nearly 650 years ago, or perhaps had created a device capable of sustaining those energies. But as you recall, I forbade the teaching of that range."

"Quite right."

"And I never kept any white magic relics in the inner sanctum. So it must be that wand. Heh, I once mused to myself what would happen if your lesser brother Lemmy would be able to find it."

"It is confirmed that he has taken the castle for himself." said Ludwig. "There was a large flash of light, and a day afterward Junior's flag was pulled down and replaced with Lemuel's standard."

"Well well, that is very interesting." chuckled Kamek. "Certainly he has bought you time so you may ascend to the throne."

"I assume Bowser's clone has not undergone the ceremony required for the kingship due to the turmoil?" questioned Ludwig.

"You assume correctly," stated Kamek, "Despite having all the genetics of an Earth King, the ceremony is not yet complete. Otherwise, I would have seen it within my minds eye, much like what happened to Larry during his ascension."

"Hmm. Then there must be a way to access that chamber by a different means. Traditionally, it was from the bottommost dungeon of the castle, and the party proceeded with solemn ceremony to the Cathedral. However, the entire expanse is littered with natural caverns and I assume there is an entrance somewhere above ground, or otherwise."

"Once again, you assume right." said Kamek. "However, you are unaware of the fact that the UmNaru stronghold is essentially underneath the entire Koopa Kingdom under a mile or more of rock. This is their base of operations, and partly how they have been able to control a number of monarchies in the past beginning in the time of King Telxin. They have a policy to never show themselves unless forced under the worst circumstance, and let henchmen do their bidding for them. But in any case, it is true that if you were to follow most of the caverns above the surface now to their original starting place, you would be found by the Naru long before then."

"But there must be a way to get to the Divine Cathedral by an underground route without detection?" inquired Ludwig.

Kamek thought to himself. "There is an old legend that I recall. When The Hammer passed away near the beginning of the dynasty a pyramid was erected in his honor and a sarcophagus was placed inside the burial chamber, but it never contained any body. I believe Iggy would have more details of that incident, as he is in that area."

"Iggy has not been seen since the destruction of the Galaxy." Ludwig frowned. 

"So it seems. Then I will get straight to the point. There is another persistent rumor that floated soon after, that said he was secretly buried in a land of fire and ash, deep below the surface. It was only assessable by two means: one of which was a long journey through the dark, starting from the castle of course. The other was accessed by sea." 

"How convenient." said Ludwig.

Kamek thought for a moment. "But before I go on, I must make my confession."

"About?"

"I have told Larry, but I was in league with the UmNaru for generations, beginning with your grandfather Morton. It was a requirement for all wielders of magic at that time, Magikoopa's we are called now. It was a time of great forgetting. The gem your grandfather retrieved however set the course for their own destruction, I believe."

"I assume you speak of the Diary of Richard." said Ludwig.

"Indeed, and this rumor is true. I have read it and it clarified many of my questions. Please pardon me as I am working from memory, but I will try to recall as best as I can. Richard had found the Tomb of Marthos underneath the present Koopa Kingdom after he escaped the Mushroom invasion of that time. He had noted its location in his diary, but when it was first dug, the sea level was much lower than it is now. Several pole shifts have passed since his burial, and I believe the sea level has risen quite considerably since then."

"That is not an issue, as my device can traverse the depths with ease." said Ludwig. "I would gladly appreciate any location of this tomb that you may remember."

"It is not just about locating the tomb." said Kamek. "It is about passing through the homeland of the UmNaru. You would have to cross more than half its length."

"That is not an issue." said Ludwig. "I have crafted myself a suit that has many of the properties that my current device does now. They will be unable to detect my signature, even when I am within their vicinity. It is crafted from nano fibers able to withstand any inquiries as to my nature, as well as many other things."

"Have they been able to track you at the moment?" asked Kamek.

"I will admit, only from locational judgment." responded Ludwig. "We have blocked many magic infiltration attempts since our departure."

"Then they will see through your plan." said Kamek. "Especially if you plan on attempting the underwater passage."

"Very well, I will make a diversionary tactic." said Ludwig. "The Amadeus will not attempt to cross into the area. I will enter it myself."

"Really? You are confident that you will not be detected?" asked Kamek. "What of the rest of your men?"

"I will not dispatch with any squadron. I will travel to the Divine Cathedral by myself."

Kamek was silent.

"There are few other options," continued Ludwig, "For the suit that I have constructed is only for my own person, and customized for battle circumstances for any possibility. My squadron is not trained along any lines of magic capability. As far as Kylie is concerned, we must not be captured together if that event transpires. I have a plan for her, along with the crew."

"If you are that confident about your power, then I will be willing to help." said Kamek. "I will send you the approximate location to Bowser's wand as my time is growing short. Just know that this passage runs in the middle of their stronghold to the Divine Cathedral, so you will need to use stealth tactics of some kind to avoid capture. While inside the tomb, there should be a wand, the Wand of Marthos. It is steeped in white magic from the ancient days but if you are able to take it, it will help you in many ways."

"How so, aside from what Lemuel is able to perform?"

"The UmNaru are descended from Marthos. That line was never really destroyed, but it explains why the surviving son of Inauro, Rendell suddenly disappeared following that pole shift. They have been unable to retrieve their own ancestor's wand because they surround themselves in black magic. Ironic, really. But if your aura can tolerate the cleansing properties of white magic, you may be able to capture the wand and use it against them, much like how they use the Wand of Telxin against your family right now." 

"This explains many things." said Ludwig.

"Indeed. I will now send the location to you and get myself going. My target is approaching, someone I should have killed long ago and this may be my only chance. Also, one last thing. I will send you a spell that should retrieve something that's been stored in that wand for some time. I believe it is still there, unless Bowser had moved it but I do not think so. God speed Ludwig, and may the Koopa family live forever into eternity." And with that, Kamek's face disappeared and was replaced by what seemed to be an ancient map of an underwater cliff face, which branched into a map of an underground cavity, with notes displaying the approximate locations of surface settlements. 

Ludwig smiled widely. This was perfect, and if his plan worked without a hitch then they would never detect him nor anyone on board. The screen then switched to a worded spell, written in middle Koopa. Deciding to fiddle with that later, he put the wand away and promptly took a piece of paper to scribble down his plan for Kylie to follow. She would not like it, but for her safety and political considerations, she needed to follow through with it. After finishing, Ludwig made his way back to the bridge of the Amadeus. There he found Kylie drinking a cup of coffee and chatting with the operators. Upon noticing his arrival, they all looked at him expecting an announcement.

"Due to the nature of the assignment, I will be traveling to the Divine Cathedral alone." Ludwig stated frankly, and held up his hand to cease the abrupt commotion. "No other person aboard this vessel has the capability to do this. Therefore, I have prescribed a plan that will be carried out immediately after my departure. Kylie, you must lead my regiment to the harbor of Abala, which lies within the Koopahari Desert. Abandon the vessel, and set the system to sink to the ocean floor when the essentials have been vacated. After, make way towards the shelter of Penny Crygor, and wait there until I give my signal to return back to the Koopa Kingdom proper." He handed Kylie the piece of paper he had written on earlier.

Kylie frowned. "I would go with you if I could. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"If we are separated, then within the worst case scenario, they cannot use us as bargaining pieces." said Ludwig. "This plan also maintains your current safety, as it is highly unlikely they will search for you in the desert."

"Why not Iggy?" asked Kylie. 

"I have been unable to contact him since the destruction of the Galaxy." said Ludwig. "We must not take any chances now. I must fulfill a destiny began by my grandfather, perhaps earlier. Now with their plans enveloping us all, I have little choice but to carry out this wish: to destroy the usurpers of my family, and return control of not only our selves, but for the common denizen as well. With Lawrence incapacitated, there is now one else who can do this." He smiled at Kylie. "This is why our gregarious moments must be fully appreciated, for all lives crumble to dust in time."

"But they happened. That's what matters, right?"

"Precisely." Ludwig turned to go, but was suddenly hugged from behind by Kylie. "I don't want to lose you." she said quietly, "Specially what we have to go through later."

"I told you it was a good idea." smirked Ludwig.

"You're just delaying the inevitable and you know it. What if you die now?"

"I won't." he said. "Keep your faith in me." And he walked out of her grip and through the door. Kylie just stared after him with a mixed expression. It was a double edged sword, living with royalty and dealing with life and death situations on a constant basis. It wasn't until it hit home that one began to realize what was at stake.

"Alright..." Kylie managed to gather herself and sat back down in her lover's chair. "Let's do this." She wasn't fully ready, but she could've said that about a lot of things. It certainly was the same many years ago when Ludwig found her when he traveled to the past. She would just do what she's always done: have faith in herself.

Outside, the Amadeus plunged into the deep sea and moved forward towards the continental self of the Koopa Kingdom. It wasn't before long that it arrived at its destination, not parked far outside the waters of the Koopa Kingdom to begin with. Suddenly, the ship rocked and a large cloud of smoke erupted from the exhaust. It drifted parallel along the shelf, and amidst the deliberate chaos was the launching of Ludwig, in a suit of grayish silver armor. After some work, he pinpointed the location of the underground alcove and quickly entered it. With jet propulsion he quickly made his way through the narrow water channel until he surfaced in near darkness. Up ahead, there was a dull light around a corner.

Exiting the water, Ludwig walked slowly, getting used to the somewhat bulky mass he now occupied. He turned several corners, and the light grew brighter as he traveled. Around one more corner was a glowing door, covered in symbols Ludwig could not understand. At once a headache erupted inside of his mind, and Ludwig clenched his helmet and fought with himself not to take it off, for fear of being detected. He stayed that way for 5 minutes, trying to get used to the pain, but the pain eventually subsided and was able to stand up straight again.

Walking up to the door, he saw a claw print much bigger than his in the center. Putting his hand upon it, he flinched in pain for a moment before the door opened upwards, revealing a dark corridor. Turning on his headlights, he entered the hallway before the door closed behind him.


	25. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny Crygor is rescued by Crown Princess Kylie, and Iggy Koopa returns to his current incarnation facing many surprises.

Penny Crygor opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out metallic walls and safety mechanisms, and knew she was still in her escape pod. It seemed to rock back and forth, and moving her head towards the window saw the ocean waves lap against it on a clear sunny day. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. She tried to lift herself, but her head throbbed in pain, forcing her to lay back down. She thought she saw something surface above the waves before losing consciousness.

* * *

A thud woke Penny again. She was inside a strange vehicle, and saw next to her the sun shining across the vast Koopahari desert. Someone next to her administered water, giving her a mouthful and she swallowed earnestly. 

"Don't worry, we're almost there." said a feminine voice. It sounded familiar, but Penny couldn't think about it. Indeed, before long her mind slipped back into unconsciousness again.

* * *

Penny woke once again. She was in a cool, shadowy place of what appeared to be concrete. Her vision focusing, she saw it was old concrete: those of old ruins. Seeing the hieroglyphs written on the walls motivated her to sit up, albeit with some pain. She felt a bandage wrapped around her forehead, running her fingers through it. Somehow, she had been knocked out when she landed in the ocean. Penny guessed that someone had rescued her, but who? It seemed the rescuing party had known about the Temple of Inauro, Penny's survival shelter situated in the middle of the Koopahari desert. Aside from those who were invited to help build the site and reside here, the location was not freely given out to the public. 

"Hey, she's up!" came a voice. In the center of the room was a large crowd that surrounded what appeared to be a Koopa with a pink shell and green hat. 

"What's going on?" Penny asked. They all looked towards her, and the pink Koopa quickly told them something before running over. Most of the group then scattered, though some remained to watch their leader recover. 

"So these people tell me you're Penny Crygor." the koopa said. 

"Yes, who are you?" Penny asked.

"Oh, just the Crown Princess of the Koopa Kingdom. Nothing big, really." Penny clearly didn't get it, so the koopa leaned in. "It's Kylie Koopa." she whispered.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry." apologized Penny. 

"Don't be. You took a hit to the head, right?" Kylie remarked. "How about you try to stand up, and I'll show you what I did to your place."

Penny positioned herself before she slowly stood up on her feet. She felt a little dizzy, but otherwise everything else seemed to be fine. Considering her circumstances, she was lucky to be found in the middle of the ocean in the first place. Her escape pod had veered far off course from its destination to the temple.

"You are one lucky girl." commented Kylie. "You were only a few miles from shore. If this planet hadn't done its little dance, you would've been home free. But don't ask me about that stuff, I'm no wizz."

"I already know all about it, but thanks." said Penny. "I'm lucky you found me."

"Yeah, if my husband hadn't decided to move my butt to the middle of the desert, I'd still be with him." said Kylie. "But life has its reasons sometimes, and I'm glad to help out."

"The desert isn't so bad." remarked Penny. "You've probably seen the gardens below level here. We have a good sized aquifer below us and finished tapping it before the Galaxy decided to shred itself apart. Plus, we're in the middle of nowhere so I doubt most people will ever find us."

"Unless you already know." winked Kylie. "How do you think I got here, hm?"

"Good point."

"If you have the tech and the knowledge, then it's a piece of cake."

"Still, I don't think people will see the benefit of living out here." argued Penny.

Kylie huffed. "Here, I'll show you around." They made their way out of the room and into a long hallway, where many people were working on multiple things at once. It was something akin to a hornet's nest, with some carrying supplies to the underground, others carrying tools to various locations, while small groups conversed amongst themselves discussing a variety of topics. It was clear that Kylie had set everything into motion upon her arrival. Sunlight filtered down from the other end of the hall, and this is what they walked towards.

"You did all of this?" asked Penny.

Kylie hummed. "They were kind of doing it themselves when I came in. Of course, when you have people like me show up, they work faster, so maybe a little bit of both? I still have to hand it to you. They've been taking care of themselves while you've been away, keeping this place alive even without a boss. That's how you do it."

Penny simply nodded. They walked up an incline and before they knew it, they were outside. It seemed to be late afternoon, and behind them the sun was lowering in the sky, a large ball of orange. Only a few other people were outside working with spotlights and some construction work. It seemed most of the supplies were already inside.

"Hey, did you hear anything about my brother-in-law?" asked Kylie. "Ludwig says that you're 'practically' his girlfriend and should know."

Penny blushed. "It's nothing like that. I've just known Iggy for years since we do similar things, and he now has his own site that he was supposed to dig up."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to be south of this place." But as Penny looked, she saw nothing but desert in every direction, except for a collection of strange vehicles clustered together south of the temple. "He never dug it up?"

"That's not a good sign, is it?" asked Kylie.

"No it's not. He should have dug this up long before now."

"We've heard nothing about Iggy for almost a week now." said Kylie. "You are the best guess."

"I don't know where he is, to be honest. I think he was going to start digging right around when the Galaxy was destroyed. I don't know what happened." It was not good. Despite the fact that Iggy's site included the Temple of Inauro itself, he was supposed to help with translations and site planning. She couldn't help but feel a little worried. 

Kylie seemed to notice her anguish, and gave her a smile. "Don't worry about it. Knowing his family, they bounce back from everything. I'm sure he'll show up when you're not looking."

Penny did not respond, but turned back towards the sunset, now lowering towards the horizon. "Where are you, Iggy?"

* * *

The stars flew overhead. He had seen everything. He had remembered himself in this wheel of time, but could not find a way out. Was it his inability? Or was he missing something? Through the overlapping congruences of lives he sought the knowledge that could bring him back home, a reprieve from this eternal remembrance. Yet a knowing within told him this was just the beginning. His future blocked and trapped within himself, he needed to find a way out, or more specifically, find someone that already knew. The process of remembering was beginning to wear down his nerves from life to life. 

He sought it out then, a desire that aligned with his, somewhere in this mess of forgetfulness that he called the Koopa race.

* * *

The sun crawled down the western valley, painting the sky a brilliant orange on an otherwise cloudless day. The machinations had ceased, and the workers were gathered in prayer. Their harvest had passed, plentiful and in acceptance. Loud noises filled the land, and great ships rose into the sky, leaving behind large plumes of smoke in their wake. As if in response, the chanting tumultuously rose into peaks and sank into valleys, reflecting the journey their masters must take.

A distance away inside of a temple was a large Koopa with white hair who sat in shadow in deep contemplation. Watching the ships rise into the sky through a long narrow window, he knew that his age was essentially over. No, not just this age. Koopa's old dream had come to an end. The wand had been taken from him, and he knew it was only a matter of time. That's the way the war was heading in after all. 

"No future, huh?" he muttered to himself before standing up with a sigh. "There is always a future. Even if the sons of Naru control us." It was true: their own evolution was no longer in their hands. But even without the wand, and even under the control of the despots they could make great strides.

He walked through the now darkening hallways and entered a large circular room with many peculiarities. The ceiling was riddled with wheels within wheels, with glyphs on each section. And surrounding this was a larger circle that, within its circumference, seemed as though it was displaying many things at once in full motion. In the center lay the present moment, but to the left lay his father's time and to his right, what he knew to be the day of reckoning.

A history lesson, indeed. He knew the dream could not die now, or their race was destined to be a failure. They could not become like the gods at any cost, or it would spell their downfall. 

He waved his hand and all the wheels were set into motion. Time rotated, and the great days of the line of Marthos faded away into strange histories of war and darkness until a dark cloud covered the rest of the future.

"Their victory will be at hand unless the wand is retrieved." he said to himself. But who would dare to step upon their homeworld? It was steeped within the negative energies, and he had already been dethroned. Had he acted earlier and ran with the Spirit Wand before the Naru arrived, he may have had a chance. But that was folly, for their technology was far greater than his.

"Did you lose the wand?" came a voice, much younger than his. He turned and saw his son Paradus standing in the hallway he had come from, with a large tuft of spiked yellow hair on his head.

"It was a matter of time. I knew this war would come to a bitter end, with Celman laying down the guardianship of our family. I had no choice, save the penalty of death."

"They can kill the spirit kings?" Paradus asked, curious.

"Indeed. Even I, Dantek, was powerless to stop them. They have more magic than our ancestor Koopa had given to us and threatened to overrule my own. I must live on for the moment."

Paradus frowned.

"Do not worry. The Spirit Wand is the best defense against them, One day, you will retrieve it."

Paradus made a face, then suddenly burst out laughing. Dantek was taken aback. "What?"

The child made a movement with his arm, and suddenly something bright emerged from the palm of his hand: a long wand, whose substance could not be seen due to the bright light that encircled it.

"The wand...but, the Naru just took it from me!" said a surprised Dantek, but his face calmed upon a realization. "Then, this is not the real flow of time. This must be your soul memory."

"Correct. This is my reality, but a shadow of your own self." confirmed Paradus.

"Where is your current incarnation?"

Paradus sighed. "I've been all across time looking for it, visiting my past lives, seeing if I had the knowledge then to find it. The road has led here. You were the last Spirit King, and I seemed to have been your son. About 200 years after this pole shift, I heard rumor about a wheel of time."

Dantek looked at him for a long while. "You tell your son to retrieve the Wand of the Spirit, and he will do so. Just not in my lifetime." He smiled. "Very well. I will help you as your days ahead are filled with darkness."

"How far ahead?" asked Paradus. "I believe I am from the future, but I do not remember exactly."

"Many ages from now." answered Dantek. "It seems they will win control over us unless the Spirit Wand is present. The Naru have it now, in this time--"

"So they do not anticipate it's return." concluded Paradus. "I must go back and help them if I can, though I do not know how long I have been gone."

"If the vessel has been carefully preserved, then you will be able to reincarnate inside of it." said Dantek. "As you are here, it seems obvious you do not know how to do this yourself." He turned the other way. "Erzembar!"

"Yes, your majesty." came a deep, bellowing voice seemingly coming from all directions.

"Though I no longer possess the wand, it seems a spirit from the future does and he needs your assistance."

"Very well." There was silence for a moment. "Ah, Paradus. The time anomaly has been identified at last. Do you wish to reincarnate back into your source vessel?"

"...yes." said Paradus after a moment.

"As you wish. I will send to your mind the instructions necessary to perform this act. This will guide your spirit back to the source vessel from which it originated." At once, the mind of Paradus was filled with the words of an incantation and the wand began to glow brighter, seemingly responding to them. Memories flashed by him, many of which he had lived himself not too long ago. He had been there, looking for the answer and now all of his experiences seemed to wrap around him at once. Reality became a blur of visions, and he did not know where he would end up, though he knew he was doing the right thing.

Soon, the words transformed into a white light which shut everything out, but even this was fleeting as suddenly, the light went out and there was nothing but darkness.

* * *

Iggy opened his eyes. Lying on his stomach, he saw a bright light that his right arm was holding: The Wand of the Spirit. But he could not move the arm, and it lay next to him, its skin gray and seemingly lifeless. A pool of dried blood caught his attention, surrounding where he lay. Suddenly realizing the situation, Iggy breathed in deep and tried to move himself, any part of himself, but nothing worked save for his head which was pierced with a sharp warmth. Lifting it, he became more aware of his surroundings and the distinct hum that sounded through the floor, but he could not feel anything in his limbs. 

"Please be patient, Paradus." came a deep voice that rang out in every direction. "The blood of your vessel must reanimate what has lay dormant."

"Wha?" Iggy managed to mouth out. "Who...are you?"

Several noises were heard above him. "My apologies, Ignatius. I have updated the language parameters. I am Erzembar, the mainframe for the Temple of the Spirit." it said. "In this time space, I have become buried in the sands and require your assistance to unearth the complex."

Iggy knew the name, but was more focused on trying to sit up. Blood had finally begun to pump through his body, and it was as if a sharp fire coursed through his veins. His regained control of his arms first, and he tried to climb into the pilots chair inside the cockpit. More or less successful, he looked outside and found the ship was hovering in the middle of the air, seemingly on its own. 

"What happened?" inevitably asked Iggy.

"The royal ship of Dantek Koopa was found crash landed approximately 65 miles outside of my location. As it is within range of the temple's outer radial protocol, I have reactivated the ship and reincarnated your soul as you requested within the 2nd age."

Iggy blinked. "What?"

"It seems you have not mastered the abilities of the Spirit Wand." explained Erzembar. "Upon your death, your soul transferred itself to previous lives, perhaps in an attempt to learn how to revive the latest vessel. You seemed to have learned of my existence, which is fortunate. It will take approximately 20 minutes for your tissues to be deemed in livable state."

"I died?!" Iggy panicked, and attempted to stand on his legs, but he forgot about his condition and fell flat on his stomach. 

"Please do not stress yourself." iterated Erzembar, but Iggy payed him no attention. Grabbing a bar on the wall, he hoisted himself up and managed to pick up his feet, leaning against the wall for support. Using the bar, he dragged himself outside of the cockpit and into the hallway like an old man, slowly feeling his legs come back to life. 

Iggy needed to get to his bag, where his laptop and medical supplies were, and he saw them laying on a long red couch at the far end. But before he came up with a plan to cross the room, he passed by something strange to his right. He looked and he was suddenly met with the reflection of his face: gray, dark and shrunken, as if he had not eaten in a million years. As if he had died.

Reality finally sank into him, and he looked down at his body and found that much of his skin was indeed grayish and seemingly saggy in places, though color was beginning to come back into his arms. He looked back at his face with dread, searching himself for the answers. He was met with a million visions that suddenly flashed through his mind. 

"Arrrrg!" He held his head before banging it against the wall. He could see nothing else but visions that didn't seem to be his. But as they passed through his mind, he began to recognize at least one of them that he had dreamed about back on board the Galaxy. No, there was two of them now. Three. Were these past lives? Iggy knew that before he even retrieved the wand, he didn't even consider the theory of incarnation seriously, being a stickler to the logical ways of science. It had all began on that fateful day when he first touched it upon Naru. In a way, he felt a bit humbled.

The visions ceased. Iggy opened his eyes, staring down at the floor beneath him. "This is Dantek's ship, correct?" Iggy asked.

"That is correct." affirmed Erzembar. 

"He was my dad at one point." remarked Iggy. "The last Spirit King." He scoffed to himself. "Figures everything comes full circle." He pushed himself upright and found his legs could finally bear his weight. He slowly walked forward into the main cabin, although his legs felt like lead.

"It seems you remember yourself now." remarked Erzembar. "This is fortunate, as the activation of the temple will now be a smoother procedure."

Iggy stopped walking. He felt a weakness spread throughout his body and his head felt dizzy. His stomach growled loudly and he clenched it, nearly falling over again.

"Your digestion system is returning to normal." explained Erzembar. "Since you have been discarnate for the past 8 cycles, your body will require nourishment."

But Iggy was already in the kitchen, located at the far end of the cabin. "Where...oh." Suddenly remembering, he opened a cupboard and grabbed a strange looking glass before walking to a strange looking device on the far wall. Placing the glass inside the nook, he attempted to recall how to operate Dantek's molecularizer. 

"Water." said Iggy, but nothing happened. "Oh yeah, ancient."

"The language parameters of the ship have been updated." said Erzembar. Iggy looked at the cockpit before looking at the glass again. "Water." he said again, and this time water poured into the glass and stopped near the top. Immediately grabbing it, he gulped it down and placed the glass back inside the nook. "Water." he said yet again, and he repeated the procedure. Iggy looked back at the cockpit again.

"Does this work with food?" asked Iggy.

"Absolutely." responded Erzembar.

* * *

An hour later, and the table in the middle of the room was filled with dirty bowls, plates, glasses and silverware. Iggy had just ordered a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and was chomping down on it, paying no heed to his growing stomach. The color of his skin had begun to return for the most part with a faint yellow appearing in most places, and had tightened itself back onto the muscles. He knew it would take time before he would fully recover, but this was a great start to that effort. His face had also mostly returned to normal, becoming much more white and the green on his head was more vibrant. 

During his feast, he realized that Erzembar had said nothing to him during the full hour. There was no way this could be the real Erzembar, the son of Koopa himself. "Hey Erzembar, are you there?" asked Iggy.

"I never departed." responded Erzembar, his voice seemingly coming from all directions. Iggy wondered about that too, but he had a more pressing question.

"Good, because I have several questions." said Iggy. "First, why didn't my body begin to decompose after death? The blood stopped flowing obviously, but it seems my organs are still intact. Wouldn't the digestive enzymes burst out of the intestinal track and eat away at the body?"

"The wand preserved your vessel and prevented it from breaking down." explained Erzembar. "In essence, your body was placed within a suspended animation of time. What you would call your epidermis lacked blood flow. It did not decompose, but it did lose its usual complexion." 

Iggy sighed. "I am very lucky."

"Quite. In most instances, a corpse would be undergoing much internal decomposition by this point."

Iggy was quiet for a moment thinking to himself. "Okay, next thing. Are you _the_ Erzembar, and how do you make your voice do that?" asked Iggy. 

"I am the authentic replication of Erzembar's consciousness." said Erzembar. "I was fitted into the Spirit Temple because I believed in the vision my father had of this race. I have never stopped serving, but my progress was halted when the Spirit Wand was brought back to Naru. That has returned, and as this age is facing total destruction in wake of the energies of chaos, this is fortunate. As for my voice, I am speaking to the wand directly. As it is now a part of your very being as it was once a part of mine, my voice seems to originate from all directions."

"So that is how you're speaking to me from 65 miles away." murmured Iggy.

"Yes. All is one." replied Erzembar.

"You said I needed to activate the temple." said Iggy as a matter of fact.

"Yes. You will become the next Spirit King, which is needed to fight the growing threat of the UmNaru."

"The sons of Naru." Iggy muttered to himself, putting down his fork. "They are still here."

"They have never left. In fact, they are now the de facto leaders of your race, and due to circumstances for which you were not present, they are about to take direct control."

Iggy got up and walked to the far window, looking out over the desert. Faint lights were seen on the horizon, otherwise the desert was only illuminated by the moon above him. He focused upon the minds of his siblings and immediately didn't like what he saw. He saw Lemmy first, bathed in white magic that surrounded Bowser's Castle from what seemed to be a swarm of the hosts of UmNaru. Morton was with him, trying to keep everything in order. When he thought about Larry however, he zoned in on Genlic and saw Larry trapped within a black magic entrapment. Iggy pulled out immediately, and silently muttered a spell to protect himself from becoming detected.

"That is not necessary." said Erzembar. "The wand protects you from the elements within the unconscious neural network that are plagued with the negative."

"So you spy on everything I'm doing." noted Iggy. "Will you spy on me if I go to the bathroom?"

"...no." Erzembar said after a moment. Iggy turned his attention back to the Koopa Kingdom. Roy was on the surface, seemingly directing the creatures himself. Wendy had apparently descended into the underground with her younger brother Junior. They were headed for the Divine Cathedral, and after seeing Junior holding the Earth Wand, Iggy pulled out of that quickly as well. He could not reveal his position to them yet. And as for Ludwig, it took a moment but he saw him, deep underground in what appeared to be the UmNaru homeland. He seemed to be going for some type of infiltration tactic.

"Well, this is crap." Iggy muttered. There was black magic everywhere, the Koopa Kingdom was invaded by underground minions, the King of the Blood was inside a black magic entrapment spell, and Junior was trying to become the next King of the Earth even though he was really a puppet for the UmNaru. Iggy knew that could not happen.

"So Larry is probably mind controlled by that magic nexus, giving orders that aren't his." remarked Iggy.

"Junior as well." said Erzembar.

"Which means that Wendy doesn't have any control over herself." Iggy thought aloud. "Roy doesn't either. Lemmy and Morton are probably fine since they're inside a white encasement shield. Wait, what is that thing...the Wand of Koopa?"

"Precisely. Lemmy Koopa discovered the artifact recently and is currently wielding it to protect Bowser's Castle."

Iggy remembered that Lemmy wanted to show him something after the Galactic Survival conference on board the Galaxy. It was a shame that he had forgot, but he did not have the time regardless. Still, it was a nice sight to behold. 

"For the UmNaru, white magic is the bane of their existence." explained Erzembar. "If Lemmy is knowledgeable of the wands full potential, he could save many people in his current situation. However, this does not appear to be the case. He will require help, which you must provide."

Iggy thought to himself for a moment. "Wait, where's Bowser?"

"He has passed."

At that, Iggy was silent for a long time. He saw his father's now buried discarnate body and knew his spirit had passed. But Iggy had no words to say. He felt that Bowser's actions spoke for themselves, despite being a puppet of the UmNaru that he probably was. And after going through what he just went through...

"Alright, take me there." said Iggy.

"To the Spirit Temple, I presume?" asked Erzembar.

"Yes, that's what I meant." Iggy said annoyingly. He heard the ships engines power on and the ship lurched forward at a great speed. Passing over innumerable sand dunes, it only seemed like minutes before the ship came to a halt.

"We have arrived." announced Erzembar. Outside the window, Iggy saw bright flood lights no more than a few miles away, shining toward the direction in which he came: the east. He saw what appeared to be machinery clustered together in a big pile somewhat closer to him. Realizing what they were from he realized where he was. 

"That is the Temple of Inauro in the distance." Iggy stated.

"You are correct." said Erzembar. "It lies to our north, no more than 2.3 miles from the Spirit Temple. It was built there during the 3rd age, when this region was more habitable. After that pole shift, this area moved into a more unfavorable environment. It seems a camp has been set up on the site."

"That's Penny Crygor's." said Iggy. "She's probably wondering where I am."

"Your mission is currently more paramount." said Erzembar. "You will have time to deal with other matters later."

Thinking, Iggy looked inside of his bag and pulled out a notepad. Flipping the pages, he came across a sketch of the Inauro complex he had drawn during his night out with Penny at the Yoshi themed restaurant. Long ago, he had performed an experiment with ground penetrating radar, attempting to uncover any structures that lay undiscovered. He received a bounce about 2 miles south of the Temple of Inauro, noting the signal strength on the pad. It was a site he was planning on digging up, and he remembered ordering the sand digging equipment to the area. However, the Galaxy fell apart shortly after that, and in his escape from the space station, crash landed and seemingly died before being brought back to life, where he was now.

"So then." Iggy began, "This site here is actually the Temple of the Spirit."

"Correct."

Iggy laughed. "It's funny how everything just comes together, huh? I was going to dig it up anyway."

"There is no need." Erzembar claimed. "The wand will guide you throughout your procession."

"Then let's land this thing first." The ship turned 180 degrees in the air before slowly descending to the sandy surface. Reaching it, the engines died and the exit door slid aside before a staircase folded itself out from underneath, reaching the ground. Iggy stepped out, walking down the steps to the surface. The sand was cold, most of the heat having dissipated earlier in the night.

Iggy looked northwards to the flood lights. There didn't seem to be much activity going on and he didn't hear any commotion, save the desert winds. Being in the middle of the night, most people were probably sleeping. Under normal circumstances, he would have headed towards the complex right away, but there were more than just a few people at stake now. 

He saw something flicker in his mind. Casually turning to the northeast, Iggy saw the magic barrier surrounding the castle flux in intensity before it suddenly went out completely. The whole area was rattling and some buildings were collapsing. Iggy frowned. It was an earthquake. "Crap." He needed to hurry now or Junior and the UmNaru would have their way due to the inevitable chaos. 

Taking the Spirit Wand, he cast its glow about the surface, looking for anything that might help him. A light appeared in the sand just steps in front of him, which imitated something like a glyph. Stepping up to it, he saw ahead of him a sand dune roll away to its sides, revealing a rectangular platform of sorts. Climbing up to it, he saw 3 small rectangular pillars standing in the center. Upon moving closer, he noted that they were each cut into 4 smaller pieces and had hieroglyphs written on each side of them. They reminded him of the writing he saw upon Naru.

Iggy tried to read them, and once again the Spirit Wand showed its magic. Already having the knowledge from ages prior, it gave Iggy exactly what he needed and with these new meanings, he knew he was working with a puzzle. With markers on the floor in front of each pillar, Iggy knew he needed to move the blocks into the correct order.

It took some time. The glyphs were vague, with some having a sun, others a gathering of people, and another had what seemed like blood. After some time, he got an idea and decided to be a little creative. "Family...Fortress...Ancestor...Blood." He turned the glyphs so they faced the marker, and the marker glowed from underneath, indicating that he was correct in his theory. "Kingdom...Law...Race...Earth." The second pillar lit up. The third one was tricky and it took Iggy more than a few tries. "Faith...Religion...um, Evolution...Spirit." 

As the third pillar lit up, a small rumbling was felt. To Iggy's left, a large sand pit opened up while the embankments around it rose higher. Jumping off the platform, Iggy peered into the pit and saw a tall entranceway leading into nothingness. Sliding into the pit, he took note of the hieroglyphs lining the entrance before making his way into the unknown.

Inside, he came across a large chamber, almost utterly dark and filled with stuffy air. Iggy stood still for a moment when he remembered something from his past. He stepped backwards to the wall behind him and felt it with his hand. "Somewhere around here..." he muttered, before finding a fake concrete stone. Pushing it aside, an odd dial was revealed which Iggy turned counter clockwise with several clicks. A glow came from under the pillars and he saw a large room at least 80 feet high, lined with large statues that filled the hall. Walking past them, they were about 20 feet tall and resembled the statues he saw upon Naru. However, they gradually decreased in height, a theme that Iggy was now well aware of. From what the writing said underneath, they were the line of Spirit Kings in order of their rulership. There must have been at least 50 of them lining either side of the aisle.

The final statue to his left was smaller but still bigger than he was. Below this was a plate with the inscription: "51st King of the Spirit, Dantek Koopa." Looking at his former dad was a bit of an odd thing really and he couldn't help but smirk at the sight. Holding up his wand, the statue suddenly changed hue and was fully colored in a realistic depiction of the person. In the middle of the statue, a colorful picture appeared of Dantek's mug and his long white hair. Looking across the other statues, Iggy found they did the same, depicting the photos of previous kings. Thinking back on it, if he ended up excavating this place before finding the Wand of the Spirit, things wouldn't have been nearly this exciting.

Iggy laughed to himself. He had to admit it: this was exciting. Not only for being able to find such a place, but for finding the wand and what has happened to him up until this point. Being well versed in the sciences, he was not scared of things what would normally cower others. Even with his own apparent death, he could help but think how fascinating that experience that was, even more so for being able to come back!

But his smile faded. "But I'm the lucky one." he said to himself and he continued down the hallway. It was true, and most people could only dream about doing what he did. They did thousands of years ago by entombing their dead and promising them they would be resurrected. Eternal life was one of those things the fear of death pushed them towards, but Iggy now knew that death was a transformation. And his mind was in many ways already transformed. 

The hallway closed in on either side, with each wall covered in hieroglyphs but Iggy had a mission now and he needed to keep moving. It wasn't before long that he reached the end of his path: a blank wall that stretched to the ceiling high above, and devoid of any writing whatsoever.

Iggy blinked. This couldn't be the end of it, and he knew it. Chuckling, he stepped up to it and wondered where the switch was, or where the secret exit lay or how he would pass through it. "Aha! It's not hidden to me!" He held up the wand and an intricate design was unveiled to him that lay across the entire wall. Using his intuition he reached up and placed his hand upon a circle high up above him, barely making it with his toes. 

The next thing he knew, he was surrounded in light before it disappeared as quickly as it came. He reappeared inside a long hallway dimly lit by pale blue lights from above. The ceiling seemed to have some kind of triangular structure, but what was more remarkable was its metallic nature. The whole hallway seemed to be made of some kind of metal, uncorrupted over time.

"Welcome to the temple, Ignatius." Erzembar's voice thundered around him now. "I have initiated the first stage activation process. Minimal power has been established throughout all sectors. Prime grid reconnecting to neural interface."

"...what is this?" asked Iggy, unsure about the sudden change of environment. He began to walk forward nevertheless.

"You are now within the Temple of Erzembar, the true name of the Temple of the Spirit.. It serves many primary functions for the Spirit King, including initiation, connection to the races unconscious neural network, the gardens of Plebertine, a shelter for planetary inundations, and most importantly, a central vortex of the light for you to spread across the globe."

"White magic, you mean?"

"Correct. For our ancient enemy, the dark have returned in our time and are now desperate for control in the face of annihilation. Their masters have not returned for several ages, and their decree has changed to take their masters role. They will not be allowed to rule."

As he spoke, a conundrum of noise began to intensify around Iggy. Portions of the wall fell away revealing doorways into rooms long locked up. More lights began to glow above and upon the ground, illuminating the walls in white light. The hall seemed to terminate into a small circular room with what appeared to be a large silver column in the center. 

"So, besides being able to read my mind, how do you know all of this?" Iggy asked. 

"I can read the minds of anyone within the Koopa race." said Erzembar. "I am aware, and I am."

"But so am I." Iggy countered.

"Precisely. You are a good choice. Now then." The column suddenly rotated upwards and what appeared to be an elevator was revealed. Walking into it, the door closed and the elevator quickly moved downwards, with many floors flying upwards past him.

Iggy suddenly grew nervous. "Once I become the Spirit King, they'll be able to see me, won't they?"

"Correct. Once you become the Spirit King, you will have to combat the forces of darkness immediately, for they will stop at nothing to destroy you."

Iggy nodded. He had a plan, considering his siblings current positions. Still, he could not hide his tension and he sighed nervously. He was no longer ignorant of the UmNaru, having seen them and their masters in previous lives. While he knew what he had to do, being one of the few pillars against them forced him to step up to the plate.

The floors fell away in front of him, and before him was a vast open space. The other side could hardly be seen, but a peculiar spiral pattern seemed to line the wall of the cavern. Upon closer inspection, this spiral was seen as an open hall and endless rooms dotted its interior.

"This is the community shelter." explained Erzembar. "It has a great capacity, and each member supports the other with the light."

But Iggy was just staring at the site. "This is huge."

"The shelter has the capacity to house approximately 58,000 inhabitants."

"What, are you serious?! That means this place is at least 5 times as large as Genlic. That's crazy."

"Approximately 5.7 times the size of the Eternal Fortress Genlic, to be precise."

"I wish I knew this sooner." frowned Iggy. "I could have fit so many people in here."

Erzembar chuckled. "You do not know your own power yet, but you will." The elevator continued all the way down to the bottom of the enormous chamber, and Iggy swore it was at least a mile in length, probably more. He never saw anything like this during his survey of the site long ago, and he wondered how the place was able to absorb his radar. 

The elevator stopped and the door opened. In front of him, Iggy saw a tall pinnacle in the center of the floor. A soft light shone at the top, and a spiral stair led up to it. Stepping out, Iggy approached the sight.

"The initiation will now begin." announced Erzembar. On instinct, Iggy manifested the Spirit Wand from his arm, and immediately lights appeared all along the ground level. The spiral stair lit up a pale yellow and Iggy followed this, thinking about his current situation. It seemed the UmNaru were trying put his siblings under their thumb, but until he gained his full potential, he would not know their full intent. As far as Iggy could see, only Ludwig stood against them at the moment and if things continued down their current path, they were all going to need his help.

"As you are aware, the King of the Spirit has not returned to us since the days of King Dantek." explained Erzembar as Iggy continued to ascend the stair. "Shortly after the Naru returned the wand back to its holding place, the spirit council imposed a ban between the Naru and their working slaves, the Koopa. Your retrieval of the wand is a very rare exception to this rule, but since your blood is descended from Koopa himself, the exception is logical. For the first time within 7200 years, the King of the Spirit will rule again and the balance of life can be restored."

Iggy said nothing at first, but a growing curiosity broke the silence as he walked up. "Why was there an exception made for me? Any number of my ancestors could have tried to do what I have done."

"An excellent question. The decision was determined by the spirit council themselves. It is only right to return the wand to its rightful owners during their last pole shift."

"...what are you getting at, Erzembar? We've survived the last ones, why not this one?"

"This world has supported more than just your race in the past. It has been decreed by the council that this planet will evolve into the next dimension of existence. You must help support this transition, Iggy Koopa."

Suddenly, everything in Iggy's mind clicked. The darkness that Dantek showed him at the end of time. The end of time. The end of their races existence! The rise of the UmNaru! It all made sense. The future was still uncertain, but it could be rewritten during every moment. Even though it appeared that the darkness was winning, there was one thing they did not consider. And if all went well, it would be their downfall.

Iggy reached the top of the pinnacle. A bright yellow crystal floated overhead, and at the sight Iggy felt an immense charge surge through his body. He was forced to halt, using the wand to keep himself upright. Struggling for a moment, he plopped one foot in front of the other and tried to keep his focus. But visions began to increase in his mind from unknown origins and he was having a hard time seeing what was in front of him. 

"The etheric field is resynchronizing to the current time space, 36,580. Accounting for soul evolution. Genetic sequence updated to current parameters. Recalibration of the sequence has been scheduled. Calculating mis-balance of the trinity...-206 earth tone, -157 blood tone, +12 spirit tone. Threat level high. Defense matrix startup initiated. Main power on stand by. Beginning the initiation."

A large bolt of yellow lightning shot down from far above, zapping Iggy. Crying out in pain, he fell to the ground whithering in agony, his body twisting and transforming as the ground rumbled beneath him. Turning his head, he saw straight through the complex to the outside above him. The skies grew dark and a vortex of wind circled around, kicking up masses of sand that further blocked his view. Another jolt however, and his vision faded to black.


	26. Darkening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plans of many are now coming to a head, and it seems the darkness has the upper hand. A devastating earthquake seeming plays right into their cards. Is there no hope for the Koopalings?

Luigi stopped. He heard something from behind the trees, footsteps that ceased just a moment ago. He didn't know why anybody would try to follow him through the Mushroom Forest, as the toad's were generally afraid of the place. Maybe some of Bowser's henchmen survived the meteors that fell? There would be more than one following him then. So who was it?

"So, there you are." came a voice. Appearing from a clump of bushes was a magikoopa with the typical blue hood, but he also wore thick spectacles and held a wand that had different gems infused into the rod itself.

"It was a mistake to let you live." he continued.

"Kamek!" 

"I should have killed you when I had the chance." said Kamek. "But now, I will finally tie off a string let loose for far too long. It was you, that power behind Mario that was the real cause of our misery all these years. And while the world collapses, I am still bound by promises. I must avenge all that has been lost and complete the task that was begun in Morton's time. Prepare to meet your doom!"

Luigi looked at him with a tired expression and sighed. He knew that Kamek was talking about the incident with the stork long ago in his childhood. But his thought process was interrupted by a spell that suddenly pushed him backwards into a nearby tree. Groaning, he regained his senses and moved to the side before red flames engulfed the tree.

Standing up, he knew he had to return to the present and stop thinking about what happened earlier. He had to focus on what was in front of him. With that, he barely dodged another spell which, if its effects on the bushes behind him were of any indication, would have turned him into dust.

"You dance on the edge of death!" taunted Kamek. Luigi ducked and dodged and jumped over the many waves of magic that Kamek threw at him. He had no idea how to fight such a powerful wizard. In Luigi's mind, he was the same as Bowser: the closer he was, the more dangerous he became. 

But his efforts to evade him proved in vain. Kamek unleashed a shock wave upon the ground that threw Luigi straight up into the air. Seeing his chance, Kamek then sent a "punch" of fire towards the hapless plumber, who then plummeted through several trees before disappearing into the forest.

Kamek smiled and ran to Luigi's location. His time had finally come. The infant that he should have killed years ago would be finally killed now, and a large chapter of the Koopa Kingdom's woes would come to a close. 

Reaching Luigi's trajectory path, he found several trees with large holes in them and a small dirt crater next to another. Inside of it was a seemingly unconscious Luigi, unaware of the danger befalling him. After reminiscing for a moment, Kamek began to cast a death spell to put an end to the brother of Mario. 

"Luigi! Don't give up!"

Luigi's eyes shot open to a view of Kamek gloating over him of his near victory. But Luigi's hand suddenly grabbed him by the neck and with a quick motion tossed him some 30 feet, canceling Kamek's incantation. Staring at the dirt for a moment, Luigi picked himself up and stared at the magikoopa in front of him. That's right, he stood in front of Daisy. He needed to be eliminated at all costs. He was a part of the old world, and that world was now falling away. 

Luigi watched Kamek struggle to get up. But something hit him then. Yes, he was a threat to Daisy. Suddenly, Luigi bolted towards him and jumped in the air with the intent on stomping on him. But Kamek saw it coming and rolled to the side, and Luigi's feet met the dirt. 

Kamek struggled to cast another spell, but Luigi was already on the move knowing full well that he had to close the distance between them. Running up to him, Luigi ducked and performed a leg swipe on his opponents ankles, knocking Kamek onto his back. Picking him up by the neck again, he slammed him into a large tree and prepared to fire a fireball at him, but without a fire flower, the process took longer than usual. Due to this, Kamek managed to blast Luigi backwards onto the ground and free himself from the clutches of his enemy. Kamek now knew he had to finish this quickly. Running to him, he quickly summoned a red spell and cast fiery red flame onto Luigi's body, relishing in Luigi's screams in that moment. Within a few seconds, most creatures would have been burnt to a crisp. 

But Kamek's target was hardly done. Within the flames came two green orbs that seemed to stare at him with malice, like a retribution yet to be dealt. The area around Luigi erupted into green flames and quickly made their way towards Kamek, who was forced to block them by increasing the potency of his own spell. But as Luigi's power grew and the flames intensified in size, Kamek knew he was on a death spiral. He needed to find a way out of his predicament, but he did not have enough time to find one. The flames grew to an immense size that rivaled the tree tops and it was all Kamek could do to keep the flames from breaking towards his direction. Struggling, he looked around him for any place to escape the inevitable onslaught, but the flames were so large that getting out of the way in time looked unlikely. 

"I...WILL...LIVE...ON!" roared Luigi, and he thrust a wall of fire towards Kamek who was helpless to stop it. Breaking through his magic, the fire soared into the forest unimpeded all the way to the Mushroom Hills miles away amidst the cries of a lone magikoopa trapped in the flame. Soon even this was silenced, and the flames died away leaving behind a soiled and sweating Luigi, his eyes returning to normal.

At first he could see nothing but smoke and the trail that his outburst of flame took through the forest like a straight line to the hills. Luigi got up and staggered a bit, still surprised about himself but more curious about his adversary. But he was not there, and Luigi had to walk some distance into the ashen path to find any sign of him. It was not long when he came across a skeleton of Koopa origin, clasping a wand with 3 gems upon it. Kamek was dead.

Remembering Ludwig's words, Luigi knew that this was probably an act by Kamek himself and not of the the whole Koopa Kingdom. Yet even then he couldn't help but feel reminiscent about those times, and the large numbers of koopa troopas he needed to kill to save the princess. The war was over, but Luigi still needed to cross into the Koopa Kingdom to reach Sarasaland on foot. With Earthquakes shattering the warp pipe routes, it was too dangerous to travel underground except for short intervals. Otherwise, he would travel there purely by warp pipe if given the chance.

Luigi looked back down at the corpse of Kamek. Thinking for a moment, he reached down and pried the wand from his bony grip. Although the rod was blackened by the fire, it held firm in his hand and did not crumble at the touch. Luigi put it on his belt, thinking it may become useful for later. 

"I will...live on." Luigi repeated at the corpse, and with that turned away and walked back in the other direction. He reached a field that was close to where the battle first started. Stopping, he looked back at the path he had taken and thought about the days when he and Mario would save the princess from the evil King Bowser, all to repel his invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom. But Mario was dead, Peach was dead and Bowser was dead. The kingdom no longer needed to be saved from any threat from the outside, but like every other kingdom across the planet, it needed to save itself. Luigi knew that was not his job now.

"Leave the past behind you, Luigi." he said to himself. Sighing, he turned away and continued on his trek northwards towards Sarasaland, thinking about the closest place to find a river to wash in.

* * *

A number of torches blazed through the otherwise stuffy darkness, passing through another corridor of chipped rock. The mood was silent and solemn; most wore long black hoods covering their identity. In the front of this party were a pair of menacing figures: Bowser Koopa Jr, holding the Wand of the Earth and marching forward with a contemplative expression. Next to him, his older sister Wendy O. Koopa kept watch on his being, as if his existence was expected to be threatened. Behind them were a number of Magikoopa's and Dark Koopatrols, with black armor and glowing red eyes. Their presence stapled the importance of the ceremony. The identity of the other members were not known due to their black hoods covering their faces.

They descended into a large natural cavern, in which a river of lava flowed through its center. Old statues of long forgotten figures lined the sides of the path, with many broken and in decay. The remains of a stone bridge sat upon the shore of the riverbed, leading to a pathway no longer used. The entire underground was littered with such paths, and by tradition the anointed King of the Earth was to travel with a party consisting of some of the most powerful members of the kingdom to protect him in case of attack. 

Even then, Bowser felt uneasy. He wasn't sure that using creatures from the pits of the underworld to maintain control was the greatest idea. There were better means to achieve this and many people were still loyal to him.

Suddenly, he saw the vision of Larry in his mind, smiling at him. "You are about to become the next King of the Koopas. Why do you doubt yourself? I would be happy if I were you."

"These creatures are a little overkill, don't you think?" thought Junior in response. 

Next to him, Wendy looked at him and noticed the mental battle he was going through. "You look depressed, which doesn't make any sense at all. You are about to become the next King of the Koopas. It is a great honor."

"Any challengers to the throne do not stand a chance against me." said Junior. "I am after them, not everyday people. If those things up there kill my people and my forces, then what would I really rule?"

Wendy smiled. "You will rule the real Koopa Kingdom."

Junior didn't know what that meant and decided to say nothing. The party continued along an eastern embankment of an underground lava flow, descending into the depths. Before long they came across an entrance to a wide cavern, with stalactites jutting out from the ceiling and floor. As Junior put the whole picture together, he realized it resembled a toothy mouth.

They reached the mouth of the entrance when suddenly the Earth began to shake. It was clear what was occurring when rocks began to fall from the ceiling.

"Earthquake! Hurry!" shouted Junior and the whole party rushed forward through the entrance, trying to dodge falling debris as they ran past. But at that moment there was a large groan in the earth, and a tremendous weight of rock fell from above and crushed the entirety of the party. The Earth continued to rumble and nothing seemed to move for many moments until in the fallen debris came an explosion, and there was Junior with the Wand of the Earth, encased within a shield trying to protect his sister Wendy.

"So you actually know how to use that thing." Wendy said as a matter of fact.

"I know it well enough." replied Junior, "And I will know everything about this wand soon." But he noticed his ceremonial party had been buried under the rock near the entrance, which was now collapsed with no immediate way back. The earthquake must have been devastating for the surface, and for a moment Junior fiddled with his wand to see if he could reach anybody above him.

"General Flutter, do you read?" said Junior. All that came back was silence. He tried calling his other generals, but he received nothing. While radio frequencies would stop short under a few meters of rock, magic was able to traverse the material plane regardless of most obstacles. Nevertheless, he could not reach anyone and Junior began to worry about how bad it really was.

But Wendy pressed him on. "Look, I'm sure it was bad, but once you become the King you'll able to clean the mess up. The longer you wait, the more people will be in danger."

"They were in danger before I left." Junior argued, but at once Larry's apparition appeared in his mind again. "You are also in danger, Bowser. The rock above you is unstable and aftershocks can break it at any moment. You must continue to the altar in the center of the cathedral."

"And what about my army, huh?" thought Junior, 

"They are under our control." said a voice in his mind. "There is no need to worry. All will come to fruition soon and order will emerge from this chaos. Now, please proceed to the altar as instructed earlier."

Junior struggled to think, but their powers had too great a hold on him. His eyes flashed a dull purple for a moment, then at once Junior continued down the path into the Divine Cathedral with his sister Wendy following. Neither were aware that they were being watched by an unknown being, something not a part of the UmNaru's plan. 

They continued down the tunnel, both noting that the air began to get warmer and warmer. The temperature seemed to increase quickly to levels similar to Bowser's personal sauna back in the castle. Noticing a reddish light ahead, they rounded a bend and saw a great magma chamber filled with endless podobos and lava geysers lining a narrow path ahead of them. Stretching itself across the lava, the path led to a singular spire of rock situated in the center of the great chamber where two sets of stone stairs spiraled downwards into unknown depths.

Like drones, Bowser and Wendy walked forward and stepped up to the narrow platform of rock and traversed it. A large number of podobos jumped out of the lava and soared over their heads to land on the other side, celebrating the imminent crowning of the king. However, it could not be said that the two Koopalings were able to think freely, let alone express what they wished. Such was the spell of the UmNaru. The duo walked up the stone steps to a small circular platform that encircled the spire, where each of them took one of the staircases and made their way downwards, each spiring around a center column that neither knew the purpose for. 

They reached the bottom, which was covered in a darkness save for a single light source. Raised atop a large platform, it was what Junior knew to be the Altar, the place where the next King was to be judged by the spirits of his ancestors whether he was fit to rule. An orange cloud seemed to dominate the air immediately above it, and small lightnings were seen within. On both sides of the Altar were two wispy figures that seemed to traverse the line between reality and illusion. Their figures were hominid, otherwise it was hard to make out exactly what they were.

"King of the Earth, please." beckoned one of them with his hand. "Let us begin your initiation."

But Junior seemed to hesitate. He held his head as if unsure of what to do next. Powers fought inside of his mind, each trying to obtain control over his being.

"I...must...fix this mess." said Junior.

Wendy smirked in seeming humor. "If you can't do this yourself, then just give the wand to me!" she suggested.

"No!" said Junior. "Dad said-"

"He obviously wasn't in his right mind. I mean, you have zero experience as a ruler. How would you not make things worse?"

The wisps looked at each other. Junior said nothing, but mentally continued to struggle. 

After some time, Wendy grew impatient. "Give me that!" she demanded.

"Do not challenge the next king," said one of the wisps, "Unless you are willing to risk your life for it."

Wendy snorted. "You two will be short work." She pulled out her wand and prepared to attack, but the wisps were much faster than she. They knocked her to the ground and the wand in her hand suddenly disappeared.

"Your childish rebellion ends here." said a wisp, but at that moment Junior pounced the duo, who were caught off guard. They struggled to get him off, but he was a bigger match due to the power of the Earth Wand. A reddish glow began to emanate from the wand in seeming response, but before Junior could release the wand's energy two white fireballs shot from another direction simultaneously hit the wisps. They seemed to convulse for a moment, and then they melted to the ground leaving nothing but smoky trails in their wake. Junior blinked: he certainly didn't produce anything like that from his wand, nor did he intend to. So then who did?

But as Junior thought about this, Wendy gathered herself and got back on her feet, managing to re-summon her wand back into her hand. Seeing Junior unaware of her recovery, she suddenly knocked him over the head with it, and he fell to the ground unconscious. At that Wendy made a face, and couldn't help but start laughing. That was way easier than she ever imagined. 

"If daddy didn't pick me, then I'll take it myself!" remarked Wendy, looking at Junior's unconscious body. Kneeling down, she took the Earth Wand clasped in Junior's hand. Immediately a great power surged through her body and she tensed up for a moment before chuckling to herself again.

"I don't know what Junior was doing, but I'm going to fix it." she said to herself. The kingdom needed to remain as stable as possible through the pole shift. The war games needed to be put to a stop, and people needed to realize that she was the best candidate for the job. Her brother Ludwig was absent as was typical, probably too concerned about his science or his music or his this and that. Roy was a blockhead and the rest of her brothers seemed to care less. Well, that was reflected in the rest of population too, wasn't it? But soon, they would have a strong leader and Wendy was determined to set things right.

As she made her way to the Altar, she was unaware of a being that hid close by. He had no choice. Leaving his hiding spot, he followed Wendy, knowing what he must do.

* * *

Lemmy woke up in a daze, his vision struggling to focus. After a moment it became evident that he had been knocked out by the earthquake, and he struggled to get up. However, he saw that he was no longer inside of the throne room. Above him was the red cloudy sky of the Koopa Kingdom, dominated by doomships and strange flying creatures encircling him above. Surrounding him on the uppermost precipice of the castle were a large number of creatures yet to be named or yet discovered, making strange noises while others seemed to communicate to themselves in bizarre languages. It was obvious that the shield that he had erected with the Wand of Koopa had dissipated during the earthquake. The creatures blocked his only exit down to the lower levels, and escape via clown copter was impossible. He was literally surrounded. 

"W-what?" Next to him, Morton struggled to his feet and tried to comprehend what was happening. "I guess your shield went down."

"Yeah...there was an Earthquake."

"Well, wasn't that a stroke of luck." remarked Morton sarcastically. "Now we're surrounded by these things and there's no chance of escape." He paused for a moment. "Well, I'll give you one thing. There's definitely someone or something who doesn't want you in dad's seat, and it's not just Junior."

Lemmy said nothing as the monsters seemed to part themselves to the sides, forming a way to pass through. But as they did, he could finally see the devastation that the earthquake wrought on the Koopa Kingdom proper. Many of the skyscrapers had fallen over, leaving behind a path of destruction in their wake. A few were still swaying in the air, trying to regain equilibrium. Even then, many smaller buildings of poorer construction had simply collapsed, especially amongst the poorer outskirts of the kingdom. Many people were seen looming about in the debris, trying to regain what they had lost. Roads were blocked with rubble and were impassible, and much of the power had gone out. An atmosphere of chaos mingled with sadness was in the air, and all Lemmy could do was watch the scene in horror. It was as if he was living inside of a disaster movie. 

Morton's mouth was gaping open at the devastation. "There's...what did...what would Bowser do? You can't...run something like this. It's impossible."

Suddenly, purple lights shot from above and materialized into beings in front of the Koopalings, once again blocking their view. They were very tall and wore long hoods over their faces. They stared down at the Koopalings intently. The creatures surrounding them all seemed to bow before their presence while others, unable to due to their physique, seemed to crouch or lay low to the ground. 

"Who are these guys?" asked Morton.

But the tall beings said nothing and stared down at the two. 

"Wow, tough crowd." said Morton.

"Well, we did lose." stated Lemmy.

At that moment, there was a sickening laughter heard all around them. Another purple light shined down and materialized into what appeared to be Roy Koopa. But his body seemed horribly disfigured, with his left arm morphed into some kind of greater monstrosity. His face was irregular, with veins and muscle building up from his skull. Yet even with these changes, his shades seemed glued to his face. 

"You guys dun get it, do ya?" Roy said. "It's over. We always win. You stand up to us, and your life is forfeit."

Morton just stared at him. "What the shit?"

"All puppets gotta dance for their masters." said Roy. Taking what appeared to be a wand of some kind, he pointed it at Morton and chanted something to himself. In a moment, Morton's eyes flashed purple and he gave a creepy grin.

"I was just joking with you bro." said Morton, suddenly walking over to where Roy stood. "You need to loosen up."

"Not until this is over with," said Roy. At this, he shot a similar attack towards Lemmy, but the Koopaling quickly pulled out the Wand of Koopa at lightning speed. Blocking the spell, he points the wand at Roy and emits a cone of light towards the two. With a cry, Morton immediately falls to the ground unconscious, but Roy screams in agony before falling to the ground, his shades flying off him. His face and body seemed to partially melt, with his skin bursting into a white foam. With a thrust, Roy is pushed backwards into the UmNaru, who suddenly shift into transparency. Roy flies right through them and off the castle precipice before falling through the air to the ground below. Regaining their forms, the UmNaru looked at Lemmy. 

"You have the right to hear us." said one of the UmNaru. "The kingdom of Telxin must come to an end. The ignorance of your line has cost many lives, and delayed the reunification of our empire. It is needless to fight what is coming..."

One of the UmNaru stepped forward. He seemed to be blindfolded and was unable to see, but his hood covered the rest of his face. He held a strange wand unlike any other and he seemed to hold it backwards by the gem. Upon a closer look, Lemmy saw most of it was sharpened like a blade and he didn't want to imagine what it was capable of doing.

"The penalty for insubordination is death." he said, and prepared to strike. With a motion, he swung the weapon towards Lemmy's neck, but the blade never reached its target. It stopped just short of Lemmy's neck, seemingly vibrating in mid air. 

"What?" said the UmNaru, clearly surprised. With a thrust of his hand, Lemmy sent the being flying backwards, landing at the feet of his brethren. But the other UmNaru seemed amused by the display, and some spoke to themselves in an unknown language as Lemmy looked on.

"As expected." said an UmNaru with humor in his voice. " You have earned the right to see your fathers kingdom crumble to dust before your death." At that, Lemmy saw below him strange shapes start to come out of the ground. They resembled spires of rock in the shape of spirals, but these were populated by the creatures of the underworld. Residents below tried to flee the scene, running towards the western parts of the kingdom while others became enslaved and were forced into what looked like camps. Lemmy knew he was trapped now, unable to do anything without great risk to himself. It seemed his siblings had been all but taken care of, with Larry being used as the UmNaru's proxy to drive their thoughts towards their ultimate goal. He thought about trying to free Larry from their spell, but was not sure what Larry would be able to do against them now. 

The UmNaru seemed to celebrate their apparent victory and chatted amongst themselves while others kept a watch over the remaining Koopaling. In the back of the UmNaru party, Lemmy noticed one with a black robe lined with gold, looking at the sky as if distraught with something. The being looked behind him towards the ocean for some time. 

"That's impossible." he heard him say. 

"What is?" asked an UmNaru close by, but the first said nothing. After a long while, he turned around to the other UmNaru, who were now looking at the developments below and talking amongst themselves with excitement.

"Scan the world for the enemy immediately," said the head UmNaru, but the others suddenly laughed.

"Why?" said another. "It is clear the plan will now be completed. The empire is already being restored."

"Don't question me." said the head UmNaru. The others regained their composure, and started casting unknown spells in a variety of colors. A handful also used strange technological devices. One of these UmNaru looked shocked, and immediately broadcast what see saw using his device in mid air. It was a sphere of the world, but focused upon a region where a massive cyclone swirled over the land, with a small eye of bright light.

"The Koopahari is covered within a 2,526 mile wide cyclone." said the UmNaru. The others looked on in disbelief, but their leader simply nodded.

"Erzembar is activating." he said. "I knew it. There is never an end without a final fight."

"Erzembar?" Lemmy asked aloud, but the UmNaru paid no attention to him. All he could do was look at the massive cyclone and wonder what was happening.


	27. Spirit King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spirit King returns, prompting retaliations from the UmNaru. Meanwhile, Wendy makes her bid to become the Queen of the Earth.

Hurricane force winds tore through the desert, picking up the sand and any loose debris it could find. Many things outside of the Temple of Inauro were simply blown away, including large spotlights and even vehicles were tipped over or dragged across the sands. Everyone had made their way inside of the shelter upon the approach of the strange dark clouds, but Penny couldn't help herself but stand at the doorway to watch the phenomena unfold before her. To her south was a bright light that lit the sky on top of what appeared to be a pyramid. All around it, objects were slowly rising to the surface with moans and mechanical noises, all with strange shapes and different colors. To Penny, it was obvious that this was no ordinary storm. Something major was happening.

While she didn't notice her at first, Kylie was also watching from behind being unable to help herself, but it wasn't until a piece of debris nearly hit Penny that she thought otherwise.

"You know, I would love to watch this some more, but it's getting pretty dangerous out there." Kylie remarked.

"Why is this happening?" Penny shouted back.

"Beats me." Kylie said, shrugging. "Although...there was that whole Genlic thing."

"What Genlic thing?" shouted Penny, but at that moment a piece of flying debris struck her and she fell backwards through the doorway before being caught by Kylie. 

"Hey!" Kylie shook her, but she was unconscious. Her head was already covered in blood and Kylie closed her eyes for a moment. "Not again." She turned around. "Hey guys! I have wounded!" It looked bad and she needed get her to medical care as soon as possible.

Outside, the wind speeds reached close to maximum hurricane force. Iggy's sand digging machines fell over one by one before being buried by the sand. The winds continued until the bright light flashed in intensity, and suddenly the clouds dissolved all around it, dissipating the storm inside out.

* * *

"...Initiation complete. Pylon operation at 100% capacity. Etheric matrix resynchronization at 78%. Toroid reactor at 59% capacity. Satellite reactivation 86% complete. Negative energy within radius minimal."

Iggy opened his eyes but he couldn't see the floor in front of him. Instead, he saw the myriad of experiences of his race in thought and emotion, colored with their perspectives. 

"Where am I?" asked Iggy.

"You are looking at the internal thought constructs of your race." answered Erzembar. "It is a passive ability to your new position as King of the Spirit. You must readjust your mental perception back to the material plane. Due to the current circumstances, I will help you in this endeavor. Eventually you will learn to do this yourself."

Gradually, Iggy's vision shifted and saw that he was laying on the same metallic floor he had fallen into unconsciousness on. Instinctively, he reached for his head and felt the horns extending from his skull.

"So, I'm a King now." he said to himself.

"Correct." said Erzembar. Iggy picked himself off the ground and looked about him. He first noticed the walls of the chamber seemed transparent, and saw outside across the world with ease, and locations zoomed in or out on mental command. The ceiling could not be seen, being within the massive central hull of the structure. All he saw above him was a glowing white light shining like a star: the capstone of the pyramid. To his side was what appeared to be the housing for the computer system that held the consciousness of Erzembar, dozens of feet high and crowned in red lights. He still didn't know its full capabilities. 

"But a king of what?" Iggy heard himself say. He thought about the Koopa Kingdom and the area zoomed in to focus. Upon seeing the devastation from the latest earthquake to strike the region, he sighed and hung his head. "I am a king of scared people. They don't even know themselves."

"It is in your power to change the current situation, if you so wish." said Erzembar. 

"It's the UmNaru..." Iggy muttered. "They have some kind of plan. Order out of chaos? But that's subjective, and even they should know that."

"What is your vision?" asked Erzembar.

Iggy was silent, looking at the whole picture. Larry was their conduit controlling everybody it seemed. They couldn't risk a Blood King thinking for himself. After all, he had authority over the whole family, and the UmNaru were all descendants of Marthos. If Larry had known that earlier...no, he wouldn't have enough power to stop them. Some things were just meant to happen.

"Poor Lemmy." Iggy remarked. "Poor everybody. You can fix one thing and another fills its place. Probably what they intended...but, there's a way around everything, isn't there Erzembar?"

"There is indeed." responded Erzembar.

Smiling, Iggy made a motion of his hand and a platform rose from beneath the floor in front of him. It unfolded itself into a chair with various extensions and controls, and Iggy quickly sat on it before immediately fiddling with the controls with glee. With the press of another button, a gigantic holographic display surrounded him showing the entire thought network of the Koopa race in relation to its source signal, allowing him to see the being who first emitted it by simply looking in the geographic direction through the walls to the source. It allied itself with his vision of the world in front of him, synchronizing with events in that moment.

"I can intercept the thoughts of the UmNaru with this. No wonder why this place is so dangerous." remarked Iggy. 

"With effort, this is possible despite their efforts to disguise their thought matrix." said Erzembar. "But I am capable of far more than simply reading their thoughts, and this is what they fear." 

"Like what?"

"The Temple of Erzembar is able to balance the natural energies across the planet to their proper equilibrium. This may be due to natural events or for intentional purposes. When unactivated, energies controlled by the darkness tend to succeed, especially in absence of the other kings. They have a tendency to manipulate energy towards their advantage due to their knowledge of the concept of fear. With the Spirit King and Blood King absent for the past 600 years, the darkness has been able to control the Earth King completely, due to their material nature which is prone to insecurities without the help of others. The whole helps the parts, and an isolated part is more susceptible to manipulation. They have relied on the darkness separating each part of the whole to hide the truth, that all is one."

Iggy thought to himself for a moment, then spun his chair towards the Koopa Kingdom, while also looking at the state of the populace through the hologram. Most were in a state of panic or delusion, shifting through the sprawling urban mayhem caused by the earthquake and the ongoing battles with the UmNaru. Unable to believe what was occurring, they relied on their primal instincts to survive.

"Those aren't logical." Iggy commented. "But...the first thing to do is obvious." He turned his chair to the Eternal Fortress Genlic, and was able see his brother King Larry stuck inside of a structure resembling something like a black crystal. 

"It's a black entrapment." said Iggy. "One of the best in that spectrum."

"King Larry has been incapacitated by the UmNaru for announcing the presence of the Destroyer to the populace." said Erzembar

Iggy had come across that broadcast in many people and was still surprised that Larry attempted it, despite the dangers. He had clearly underestimated their powers, and now Larry was being used as a proxy for their plans.

But Iggy grinned. "Not for long."

"Be advised that freeing Larry from his prison will force you into a battle with the UmNaru for supremacy. They cannot afford to have the populace rebel against them now."

"So I have to keep the Kingdom in check, while I fight their Empire simultaneously." said Iggy, and he groaned. It was annoying, but doable. "Well, first thing's first! I must announce my presence to the world. Hope is about to exercise its muscles. But let us begin with a sampler." Chuckling, he focused the vision of Erzembar towards Genlic to Larry inside of the entrapment. He saw several people next to Larry, including Mona, Bombette and a team of magicians seemingly trying to get him out.

"Sorry for the wait." said Iggy, and he recited a spell inside of his mind. Though he had grown up within a black magic environment, he was quickly adjusting to using white magic full time. Soon, his hand glowed a soft white. He thrust his hand out towards Larry, and immediately a section of Genlic started glowing a bright white. The black entrapment flashed white suddenly, and the eyes of Larry went wide. Iggy rotated his hand, and the black magic inside of the spell started to vaporize into steam that flowed upwards into a thick smoke. Everyone around it had ducked for cover or fell to the ground, confused as to what was happening.

Iggy made a toothy grin. This was already too easy. "And then..." He clenched his fist and suddenly the entrapment exploded into a million fragments that flew in all directions. Larry fell to the floor of Genlic unconscious. People rushed to aid him, but Iggy knew he was going to need more than the traditional medicine. "He's been inside there for a long time and much of his body has absorbed black magic. Most people would either convert to a mindless creature, or die if they refuse."

"His will power has ensured his survival." explained Erzembar. "While he was ignorant of the entire situation, he justly believed in what was right. He will require extensive healing in white magic. Otherwise, he remains incapacitated and you remain the sole Koopa King."

"Let's see what I can do about that..." Iggy's hand glowed again, and the black Wand of the Blood glowed white next to Larry's sleeping body. It lifted off of the ground seemingly on it's own, and in response, so did Larry. 

"What the hell is happening?" Iggy heard Mona say.

"Mona," Iggy sent telepathically. "Larry needs to be healed, a lot. But I'm going to have my hands full in a second, so I charged his wand with my magic. It should slowly purge his body of all black magic as long as it remains by his side, or on his chest preferably. I'll get to him when I can, but for now that's the best I can do." Larry's body, along with his wand, floated all the way to his bedroom, where it lay down upon his bed in sleep, with the Blood Wand floating down onto his chest. 

"When this is over..." Iggy frowned. 

"Alert: negative value build up to 89% detected within the Koopa Kingdom proper." announced Erzembar. "The enemy is preparing for attack."

Iggy expected it, and began to charge the pylons outside to help feed the main crystal on top the complex. The crystal grew into a bright light, reaching the point where it seemed to be like a second sun.

"Crystal capacity for all pylons 100% capacity. Ready to attack."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Koopa Kingdom, the "Star of Erzembar" could clearly be seen, far away across the ocean. 

"I guess that's Erzembar." murmured Lemmy, staring at the far away light. Around him, the UmNaru were furiously talking amongst themselves.

"Then how did he obtain the Spirit Wand?" asked one. 

"He is of royal blood." said another. "Yet he was never captured by the Naru. We are dealing with a crafty character."

"We cannot take any chances." said the head priest. "While we are fortunate to re-materialize our empire, all of our work will be undone unless the Spirit King is stopped. To do this, Erzembar must first be destroyed."

Suddenly, they all stopped talking. Lemmy wondered what just happened, until he realized that the negative voice inside of his head had disappeared. Larry had stopped talking. 

"He has made the first move." said one UmNaru.

"Then let us do what must be done!" said the Vice. "With Erzembar destroyed, there will be nothing that can stop us. This will be the last rise of the Spirit King!

At that, the UmNaru lined themselves up on the precipice in a row, with only a couple keeping their eye on Lemmy. Each pulled out a wand similar to wand's held by the vice, except they were all of a black metallic substance, and most held a purple gem on one end. 

"Ri inctoris unum!" cried the head priest, an ancient battle chant. Each of the UmNaru began to cast spells. Lemmy looked below him and saw the rock spires being surrounded with a purple energy, culminating at the top into purple spheres. It seemed they planned to use what was left of the Koopa Kingdom to destroy what they termed Erzembar and the Spirit King. Wait, there was a 3rd King? Whoever it was, Lemmy wanted to help and he knew he needed to escape the castle. Remembering his trip through the Valley of the Koopa's, he knew there was only one solution. He saw Morton beginning to regain consciousness, and knew the plan would be tricky, but it was better than staying around to see the fireworks go off.

Gradually, each UmNaru built up their own spells between their hands, growing into large purple spheres of their own. Soon, the UmNaru was clothed in a line of purple light and everything became hard to see. Taking the chance, Lemmy slunk away from the giants, and using the Wand of Koopa, dragged Morton along the ground and pushed him off the edge. Before the UmNaru could take notice, Lemmy himself jumped straight off the side of the castle precipice.

Using the Wand of Koopa, he slowed the fall of Morton and made him land safely on top a pile of rubble. Seconds later, Lemmy landed on top of the pile before rolling down it. There, not too far from him were a group of Koopa's held captive, and after seeing him they began to cheer. The creatures in response headed toward Lemmy, but the Koopaling was much quicker. Jumping into the air, he landed on the back of one creature and shot a scorching fireball at the creatures head, which exploded in blood. The second creature was a flying type, but Lemmy jumped higher and landed on it's back. Breaking it, the creature fell to the ground and was met with the applause by the captured civilians. 

"Hi guys, I managed to escape." he said. "But stuff is happening, so we need to run for cover." 

"What's going on?" asked Morton, walking up next to him.

"UmNaru are attacking the Spirit King, and we need to head for cover." explained Lemmy. "This is way beyond us, man." He opened the enclosure, and immediately people were asking them questions on what was happening. 

"There's a Spirit King now? So that's 3 of them. Is there a 4th or a 5th we're missing?"

"I don't know what's going on." said Lemmy. "I don't hear Larry's annoying voice anymore, but now there's this thing called Erzembar that just activated and it's some kind of threat to them, and this Spirit King has something to do with it too." 

"What about the King of the Koopas?" asked Morton.

"Nothing." said Lemmy. "Junior would be here by now saying how awesome he is."

They looked up at the castle and saw a large purple light glowing on top of it. 

"Well, we should get out of here." suggested Lemmy. He turned towards everyone else. "This is not our doing, but you probably figured that out. We need to find cover somewhere, because what's happening right now is way beyond us. But there is a good guy in this, I think. They say the Spirit King has returned."

But many people didn't believe that. "The Spirit King is a legend, and legends aren't facts but just stories!"

"That's what I heard." Lemmy claimed. "I was right there next to the real rulers of what's left of the Kingdom, but you don't have to believe me. All I know is that we need to find a hiding spot and rescue other people along the way. We need to get going."

With that the party set off at a rapid pace, most of them running through the transformed landscape, trying to find any more captured civilians to free. But on top of the castle, they finally noticed he was missing.

"He's gone!"

"Do not mind them! We must destroy the greater threat!" said the head priest. "On my command, attack!"

* * *

Inhaling, Wendy stepped onto the platform. This was her big moment: all she had to do now was gain the approval of the ancient Earth Kings and she was set to rule the kingdom. 

Immediately, reality shifted before her. The darkness gave way to an orange, cloudy environment. Within the circle there was no one else, and it seemed that no one was there to address her.

At length, Wendy grew impatient. "Well? At least you guys could say hello or something."

Within the clouds came ghostly heads of past Earth Kings, forming a circle around her. To Wendy, she didn't know any of them but quickly figured they were the previous Koopa Kings.

"Who is this?" said Reiner, one of the past Earth Kings.

"The daughter of that idiot Bowser of course." said Wolfgang, a Koopa with a long white mane. "She has that same stupidity he once had. One performance on the stage is enough."

"I don't remember her. Who is she again?" said what appeared to be Bowser.

"Daddy!" Wendy cried out, but the spirits laughed all around her.

"Well, I think that rules it. If your own dad can't remember you, you'll never be chosen." said Alexander.

"What the hell is this? Who are you to decide what I am?" asked Wendy.

"We decide who you will become." said Valerian.

"It seems you care only for your wealth, and the markets that procure it, and the people that pay for it." said Beneth.

"Wealth begets wealth." said John.

"You are like a stubborn little child, always demanding what you want. The Earth King is something that is not demanded, it is earned." said Wolfgang.

"I agree. This is not a position that you have earned." said Morton.

By now, Wendy was fuming and was trying to come up with something that could convince them otherwise. 

"I just knocked out Bowser Junior, who's like the worst person for this." claimed Wendy.

"He is a clone." stated Morton.

"So? He would have been more qualified than this prissy girl." said Wolfgang.

"You're too much like me, and the kingdom already has enough of that." said Bowser.

"But daddy...!"

"The UmNaru are in control now." said Valerian.

"Please, we don't have time for this." said Morton. "Is there a contender for your claim?"

"Indeed there is." came a voice, sounding robotic. Everyone looked and saw a being in a strange suit walk up to the platform. 

"Who is this?" asked Morton.

"A son of Koopa." The being pulled out a silver wand that glowed a soft white. But at the sight of this, many of the other kings suddenly looked surprised and worried. None of them said anything. 

"As you stated, Wendy is not qualified to become a Queen of the Earth." the being continued. "If she does not stand down, then I am forced to challenge her to a dual, as stated by the rules."

"That is impossible!" said Wolfgang, seemingly ignoring what the being just said. "No Koopa can hold the Wand of Marthos and live! He cannot manage that kind of power!"

"This is a strange technology, but it seems to allow you to use this wand." noted Valerian. "There is no reason to decline your wish."

"Indeed. I approve of this challenge." said Bowser. Most kings nodded their heads in agreement. Wendy was transported to the outside of the platform in a flash of light. In front of her was the being, and she studied it carefully. Considering the complex nature of the build, she took a good guess as to who it was.

"Now, I will obtain that wand you carry on Bowser's behalf." said the being.

"You're too late, Ludwig." said Wendy. "How do you think your little trinkets can hold up to this beauty? There is nothing that can stop me. You will lose, and bow before me as queen."

Ludwig snorted. "Hardly. I am exactly on time to face the demise of the UmNaru and their newly appointed puppet, being yourself of course. You may continue to dream what such a position may offer you, but none of your fantasies will come true, especially in light of the disorder already occurring."

Wendy looked surprised. "What are you talking about? Everything I want will come true, and the first will be your death!"

Ludwig sighed. "How unfortunate." The two Koopalings prepared themselves for the inevitable combat that would decide the ultimate fate of the Koopa Kingdom.


	28. First Trinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight with the UmNaru reaches its culmination and seemingly final conclusion.

Far above the snowy Kong Mountains, a long purple light passed by traveling a million miles an hour. Whipping snow into the air, it passed over the western Kong ocean before reaching the shores of the Koopahari, but by then it was too late. It hit a large energy shield in its path and dissipated, but not before rocking the area with its blast.

"Negative spell converted into system." announced Erzembar. "They are testing the waters."

In the middle of the room sitting upon a chair was King Iggy Koopa, constantly shifting his eyes across the battlefield that was now a good chunk of the world. They were testing his meddle all right, and while it was clear they knew Erzembar, they still didn't know who was at the helm. But before he could do anything, another blast rocked the complex and the hologram flickered for a moment before returning to normal.

"They have intensified their original attack." said Erzembar.

"I know, they want this place destroyed." said Iggy. "But that's not going to happen. Too bad for them! Let's give them a simple one."

Erzembar charged up, the pylons glowing outside. The crystal at the top of Erzembar glowed brightly and with a flash, there was a large boom and a small beam of light shot towards the Koopa Kingdom.

Reaching its destination, it hit the UmNaru faster than they could counter it. Many of their robes burnt in seconds and their skin smoked and burned as they fell to the ground, crying in agony. Even the stone beneath them seemed to melt and contort under their feet. At the sight of all this, the head priest frowned.

"This is no novice." he said. "Surely it must be one of Bowser's gifted. Men! It is time for the Infinite Return!"

While under the constant assault from Erzembar, the UmNaru managed to create a shield about themselves and start to cast much more powerful spell. After some time, a deep blackness enveloped the air above their heads and when the time was right, they let loose a blackness that countered the light that followed the trajectory all the way back to the source.

"Infinite Return detected." said Erzembar. "The spell contains a Halving Circuit that gradually breaks down all matter into its infinitesimal parts of darkness. It is dangerous."

"White encasement, level radial." commanded Iggy. The complex became surrounded in a white cone of light, so that when the darkness spell arrived, it was forced to halt in place, too busy converting all of the white energy around it. Thus, the Infinite Return, rather than reaching its target had formed a ball inside of the white encasement spell Iggy had set up. Nevertheless, this still had side effects and that included rocking the earth considerably as all types of matter, mostly sand was sucked into the vortex.

With his hands, Iggy began to transform the ball of darkness into a new shape. He was going to use their own spell against them, with a little bit of physics thrown in as a personal touch. The dark ball morphed into the shape of a torus and a white energy gathered within its center. The torus seemed to convert the dark energy to light energy, as well as build up in intensity.

"Hm? He's molding the Infinite Return into a cosmic loop?" the head priest murmured to himself. "That means..."

"You have encased the Infinite Return into a toroidal loop and are now converting to the positive." said Erzembar. "The UmNaru must maintain their spell or suffer a positive feedback wave upon themselves."

Iggy grinned. "As you can see, I'm not easily controlled!" While he still strained under their spell, he was still able to cast his next spell. Within orbit, ancient satellites triangulated their trajectory to Erzembar itself. Taking the energy in the center of the torus, the satellites looped the white energy between themselves before returning it to the source. This made the white magic grow in potency and increasingly shine brighter. In the meantime, the pylons charged up again with various colors, with white magic flowing from them to the capstone of Erzembar.

"You are the ones who are going to lose!" shouted Iggy. A wave of light shot out of Erzembar along the Infinite Return and flew towards Bowser's Castle. The UmNaru only had a moment before there was a flash of light and a wave of whiteness slammed into them, rocking all the land about them.

"All low to medium level black spectrum vibrations are being transmuted to the white spectrum." said Erzembar. "The high class UmNaru remain. Currently, they seem to be plotting your overthrow using the wand of Telxin to control your genetics, and hence your actions."

Indeed, the head priest had unveiled the Wand of Telxin, grasped in his hand and glowing a dull purple. From what Iggy knew of the wand, it could control all of the descendants of Telxin, or most of the known descendants of the Earth Kings, including Bowser's children. The UmNaru probably wanted to try to control Iggy's actions and try to break the stalemate he had forced upon them by interlocking the Infinite Return spell.

Despite struggling against the white "wind" that blew in towards the Koopa Kingdom, the head priest and a number of others managed to stand their ground and maintain their positions. Forming barriers around themselves, they managed to ward off the immediate effects of the white magic. The head priest himself lifted up the Wand of Telxin and with a chant, shot a beam towards Iggy.

"People like you cannot live." said the head priest.

Wincing, Iggy struggled against following the commands of the wand. "There is no way a single spectrum of magic can conquer the entire world!" Iggy managed to say.

"Your ignorance is striking for a Spirit King. Tell me, once you destroy us, what will you do with them?" asked the head priest.

Suddenly, Iggy's holographic radar started buzzing. Creatures were seen crawling out of the ground across the Koopa Kingdom. More UmNaru followed them, and they began to march out of the Koopa Kingdom via sea and air towards Erzembar, like flies to a light.

Iggy, already having his spell weakened by the head priest, could not stop the coming onslaught without interrupting his engagement spell and suffering the negative force feedback against him. He need help and he needed it fast. The UmNaru headed toward him began to cast spells against Iggy, and while none of them had any serious effect due to the overwhelming defense of Erzembar, he nevertheless was becoming worn down from their constant assaults. Even Erzembar was feeling the brunt as Iggy's holograms showed, trying to keep the white encasement spell cast in order to sustain the catch 22 situation Iggy put himself into while defending everywhere else.

"We will soon require assistance." said Erzembar, repeating Iggy's thoughts.

"I know, I'm working on it." said Iggy as he tried to think of a solution amidst holding off the enemy. He looked through his family's thought complex and saw Ludwig dueling Wendy for the Earth Wand. Thinking about the whole picture, he got an idea. He just hoped he would know how to communicate with him.

"Ludwig, use a cleansing spell." Iggy said telepathically.

There was no answer for several moments as their duel became heated. But after a magical explosion, there was a small lull.

"I've thought about it, but it may be too dangerous for her mental stability given her current situation." said Ludwig.

"It may be bad for her mind, but the spell will affect more than just her." replied Iggy. Ludwig, while not able to see the entire situation, knew enough about what was happening to expand upon the idea. Using the Wand of Marthos, he casted a white cleansing spell directed towards Wendy. However, as Wendy was under the control of the Wand of Telxin, this spell had the consequence of spreading towards every descendant of Telxin that still lived. This had major consequences, but the first was Wendy suddenly screaming aloud and clutching her head, and staggering about while trying to retain her sanity. But unknown to Ludwig was the sudden flash caused by the Wand of the Blood, which lay upon the chest of King Larry Koopa. And when his body became enveloped in that light, he suddenly regained consciousness before the light died as quickly as it came. His healing had accelerated, and though he was not quite fully healed, he had enough energy to return to the waking world. Upon seeing the struggles that were happening with his family, he struggled to get up and managed to get up onto his feet. Though he felt weak and wobbly, he managed to stumble across his room and headed towards his outer balcony to see the battle in action.

As for Iggy, the spell sent a surge throughout his body, revitalizing him enough to be able to help strengthen the white encasement spell against the other UmNaru. But he knew the current situation couldn't last forever and he needed to find a way to end it quickly.

It seemed the head priest had something similar in mind as well. "All patriarchs! Each cast the Infinite Return and direct it towards Telxin's Wand. We will break the stalemate!" The patriarchs, heads of the various branches under the line of Marthos all began to cast Infinite Return and when completed, sent beams of darkness to the head priest. He molded the spells into a black monstrosity and prepared to fire it towards Iggy, with absolute destruction in mind.

"Warning: negative singularity detected. Shield breach imminent." announced Erzembar. The source of the threat zoomed in on the holographic display to the Koopa Kingdom, where the head priest finalized his preparations to unleash the spell and finally break the stalemate.

But before he was given the chance to do so, another beam of white magic hit the head priest, and he growled in response to the increased load. The monstrous black spell seemed to hold in place, but now the UmNaru's attention turned to the new contender, who lay to their south-east across the sea. Larry had managed to drag himself out of bed and now hung over the edge of Genlic with his wand pointed directly at the UmNaru, clearly trying to do the best he could.

"As head of the family, I command you to step down and surrender all of your forces, Dac'Leon!" Larry commanded.

Dac'Leon said nothing, but many of his minions ceased their spells at the threat, with some being of the line of Marthos and fearful of retaliation. However, the demand did nothing for the ground forces which mostly comprised of creatures of the deep, and many of them still headed towards Erzembar. They seemed to be mostly unaffected by the magic currently being thrown around, save for the masters who controlled them.

Thinking about his next moves, Dac'Leon suddenly heard a cracking noise below him. He looked and furrowed his brows. "It's too soon for that!" The Wand of Telxin was slowly cracking under stress from the two wands that now pummeled it. The spell that he had moulded was beginning to destabilize, but getting out his own personal wand, he managed to maintain everything in place while he tried to find a solution to this mess.

Looking at the bigger picture, Iggy knew that he had to find a quick solution to this mess himself. He knew he had the top dogs in a tangle, but unless their numbers were held in check then he would be overrun, which looked increasingly likely.

An idea came to his mind from his days reading Kamek's old spell tomes, notably the supposed "forbidden" ones. The spell was legendary and was said to be extremely dangerous, and it seemed Erzembar read his mind.

"Most spells are transmuted through the casters body according to his ability to receive a particular vibration." said Erzembar. "But this one-"

"I know, but it's the only way to kill them all right now and balance all of the spectrum's." said Iggy.

"God's Wrath is deadly." continued Erzembar. "It is said that only 4 individuals throughout known history have successfully cast the spell and survived. Most casters perish as untrained vessels are unable to handle the potency of pure white magic. While the spell would exterminate every UmNaru across the globe, the risk is too high."

"You forget Erzembar. I died once already, and I don't think I'll die from this."

"Many have said that. While your family will be granted victory, it may come at a price." eluded Erzembar.

But Iggy scoffed. "I am not that price! If I cannot cast it and live, then no one in my family can. It must be done now." Iggy summoned an opening in the wall which led to the outside, and he jumped off of his chair to walk towards it. "I am not the price of victory! This is nature working in its never ending dualistic cycle, and the next is about to begin!"

"...so be it." said Erzembar, and Iggy manifested the Spirit Wand from his arm and his arms began to glow white in preparation of the God's Wrath spell.

Meanwhile, Junior had been awakened by the cleansing spell casted earlier by Ludwig. After waiting for the right moment, he got up and casted a spell towards Ludwig. The spell hit his suit, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Ludwig raised the Wand of Marthos and cast another cleansing spell, causing Junior to fall to the ground in pain once again. Wendy screamed in agony, dropping the Earth Wand on the ground to clutch her throbbing head. Thinking quickly, Ludwig ran and took the wand from the ground with his free hand, beating Junior's attempt to nab it by only a few moments. Ludwig used the Earth Wand to raise Junior off of the ground, then used the Wand of Marthos to shoot a white magic spell at him before tossing him to the other side of the cavern.

Ludwig looked at Wendy, who was now in tears and was having a hard time handling the duality of the magic that attempted to free her and control her at the same time. Junior, despite taking heavy beatings, was still struggling to get up.

"As long as your consciousness is open to them, they will retain control over you." explained Ludwig. "And such black magic is easily countered by the white. In short, this dual is over."

"I must avenge myself!" said Junior.

"As I stated, you will remain under their control without proper protection." said Ludwig. Suddenly, Junior got up and lunged for the wand again, but Ludwig blocked his movement further with the Earth Wand before slamming Junior's back into the ground. He did not appear to move afterwards.

Ludwig nodded to himself, impressed by his feats with using white magic. Having grown up within a black magic environment, he had a acute reaction when first touching the Wand of Marthos, even with his suit on. However, after some time he was starting to get used to the spectrum.

Leaving Wendy to her fate, Ludwig stepped onto the platform and walked into the pocket dimension. Inside, the previous Earth Kings stared down at him, many looking surprised and contemplative. There was silence for a long time, and Ludwig decided to take the initiative.

"As you can see, I am the champion." began Ludwig. "Do you require my visual identity at the risk of signature exposure to the UmNaru, and will your judgement be impartial?"

"Despite our upbringing by the UmNaru, we still retain our own part of consciousness." said Richard.

"The fact that my wand can be wielded by yourself, protection or no, is a sign of great changes for the Koopa Kingdom." said Marthos.

"But you must expose your identity." said Valerian

"This is required to complete the challenge." said Morton.

With no other choice, Ludwig unlocked and removed his helmet. Immediately, Bowser could be seen laughing to himself.

"I should have known!" he said. "I had chosen you to be the next king long before they got to me."

"That is due to their spell of forgetfulness." stated Valerian.

"Even so, I chose him for a reason and my reason is now justified." said Bowser. "I choose him to be the next King of the Earth."

Most of the heads surrounding Ludwig nodded in agreement, although a few had skeptical looks on their faces, especially those kings who were heavily corrupted by the UmNaru. Sensing this, Ludwig spoke.

"We are entering a new era, where the Spirit King and the Blood King have returned, and the UmNaru lose control after centuries of living under their rule. As a result, it is no longer the sole responsibility of the Earth King to lead the race of Koopa, but the responsibility of all 3 kings. This is how we will survive as a species in the future."

"These were indeed the days of old, when the Trinity was in full effect." said Beneth.

"The problem is not your ability." said Wolfgang. "But why your challenge ended up being so...lackluster. You did not finish off the other contenders."

"That law was created by the UmNaru." said Morton.

"It still applies." insisted Wolfgang. "If he cannot kill them, then he is not worthy to become the next king."

"All the rules of initiation were created by us, not the UmNaru." said Richard. "And as far as I am concerned, the rule no longer applies to the times."

The kings argued amongst themselves over rules they had set in the past while under the influence of the UmNaru, and it was clear that some of the kings never fully realized their actions. After some time, Ludwig's patience grew thin.

"I will not let the UmNaru claim victory due to some petty issues that were not intentionally created by yourselves. This is the chance to wrestle the mantle of the world from them, and I will go as far as attempting to initiate myself if no consensus is reached."

"I agree." said Morton. "This is the best time to claim victory over them. I support your initiation."

"As do I." said Richard.

The kings then voted amongst each other and it seemed to Ludwig that he heard more support than the opposite.

"The majority have it," said Wolfgang. "Though I do not like it, the votes are in favour of you becoming the King of the Earth."

"We will now begin the initiation." said Morton, and lightning shot out of the orange clouds surrounding Ludwig, hitting him from every direction. Because of his suit however, he did not feel a sudden shock like his siblings had, but nevertheless his body began to transform.

The horizon in front of Dac'Leon suddenly shined brightly, a light that seemed to encircle the whole of Erzembar.

"What?" he thought to himself for a moment. "Is that...no!" It was the legendary God's Wrath spell and he knew it. Even if it was a desperate measure and the Spirit King did not survive, it was still devastating and he had to find a way to stop it.

In the Koopahari, Erzembar was indeed clothed in a brilliant white light. Inside of the complex was Iggy Koopa, whose whole body was now completely covered in white light. He was mere steps away from achieving the final culmination of the spell.

"Spell 89% complete." said Erzembar.

Iggy laughed, delighted his self discipline was enough to make the spell work thus far. "It is time to re-balance the spectrum! UmNaru! You will pay for your crimes!"

"I am hardly finished yet." claimed Dac'Leon, and he summoned a spell using his own wand. A type of black shield, it seemed to protect him from the current stalemate with the Spirit King. Building the shield into a more powerful defense, he hoped he could use it to dodge the inevitable feedback he would have to face before handling the far worse spell behind it.

But before he could make his shield more potent, the ground had begun to rumble underneath him. Cracks appeared around Bowser's Castle until there was a large explosion of rock all around the castle. With rock hurled into the air, DacLeon thought he saw something flying in the air also, something with a long silver wand. But his magic signature came up immediately: It was Ludwig Von Koopa, now King of the Earth.

With his wands now tied up to different spells, it was all Dac'Leon could do before the beast landed with a slam next to him. Ludwig's suit was gone, torn apart by his sudden growth that now rivaled his fathers. With horns pointing out of his lengthy blue hair, his authority was undeniable. Dac'Leon hoped that with his current position, the new king might try to gloat and buy him some time.

But Ludwig had no such intention. Taking the Wand of the Earth, he held it firmly in front of him and stared down his enemy. "Since you insist upon being so eloquently delinquent to our majesties, I will relieve you myself. I do appreciate keeping your...wrists open to my presence." And he chuckled.

"Your kind will never be free!" said Dac'Leon and he attempted to move his own wand to try to bend his shield towards Ludwig's direction, but instead Ludwig darted to the side and swinging the Wand of the Earth, slammed the Wand of Telxin with it. With the combined force of the three wands against it, there was a stab of white light before the dark wand shattered into a million pieces. A moment passed, then there was a large explosion of purple flame which sent the two enemies flying in separate directions. Iggy's white encasement spell then immediately feed-backed upon the Infinite Return, shooting a white beam of light that caught Dac'Leon in mid air as he was flying. A loud scream was heard across the northwestern Koopa Kingdom until it died out amongst the crags.

Only a minute later, and a great wave of light traveled across the sea. It reached the Koopa Kingdom like the light from heaven and it incinerated the UmNaru, burning their skin rapidly until their skeletons crumbled to the ground. They disintegrated in the brightness like the wind over the sand and the people below them screamed and cried, terrified for their lives. The creatures that came from the deep roared at the pain and most tried to flee the oncoming wave of light, but they quickly disintegrated before it into skeletons, and even those turned to dust in mere moments. Some people, much like the UmNaru fell over with their skin burning and crying out for help. However, it seemed most people were unaffected by this plague and most stood still before the light, too scared to try and do anything else. They cowered before it, trying to look away and yet too much in awe to try and run from it.

The Wand of Koopa suddenly shined brilliantly, and a beam of light shot from its belly into the ground with Lemmy nearly falling over backwards before Morton managed to catch him. The light didn't nearly affect him as it seemed to affect Roy. Then again, he was never the sadistic type. Wait, was that the Spirit King's intention? Wipe out all the negative people?

A circle of light quickly grew on the ground below Lemmy's feet and expanded outwards, encompassing what could be seen of the city ahead of him and spreading to the mountains that surrounded the Koopa Kingdom. The spiral-like structures that the UmNaru had summoned were disintegrating from the base, with the spires soon crumbling into dust.

Purple lights randomly shot out of the ground, affecting the UmNaru far below ground. The Earth shook in response and Lemmy wondered how stable the ground below his feet was. But his thought did not last long: one of the purple lights hit Lemmy and Morton directly, and they were knocked into unconsciousness.


	29. Recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the UmNaru vanquished, the Koopalings regather themselves and discuss the fate of the Koopa Kingdom.

The interior of Erzembar was filled with smoke. The spell having been exhausted, there was a strange calm about the place, except for the dull hum that resonated throughout the walls. The source of the smoke was King Iggy Koopa, who lay upon the floor in a literal pool of sweat. His skin emitted vast amounts of smoke and excreted sweat profusely, but did not appear to be burned or injured otherwise. A twitch, and his arms moved, struggling to get up.

"Spell complete." announced Erzembar. "Your vessel requires hydration immediately."

There was a groan as Iggy finally managed to pick himself up onto all fours. With the rate his body was losing water, he needed to assist himself quickly or lose consciousness. But after going through what he did and still struggling to adapt himself to the powers inherited to him, his mind was not in the right place.

"Let me rest, will you?" Iggy asked weakly.

"No. Your vessel requires immediate nourishment, and the greater matrix lies in shock over their awakening. You must regain your strength and guide your people back to productivity."

Iggy spit his own sweat onto the ground and pushed himself onto his legs. That's right, he was still alive. He wasn't a walking corpse this time. His vision was blurry and he felt his glasses not on his face, but for the moment he did not care. He needed something to drink.

A glass of water manifested next to him inside of a molecularizer that had risen from the floor. Apparently, Erzembar was becoming impatient with the current situation. Iggy's darted to it and he smirked. "More." he commanded.

The glass then disappeared and was replaced with a full pitcher of ice water. "Better." He eagerly took it and gulped down the whole thing, ice cubes and all. He tossed the pitcher to the side; it was not enough. "More." Another one appeared and Iggy drank that as well, albeit slower this time. Tossing it next to the other, he suddenly craved for something he hadn't drank in some time. And from that thought came something else then: a pitcher of what appeared to be pineapple and coconut juice. Iggy looked at Erzembar, half impressed.

"It is filled with the nutrients you need currently." Erzembar remarked, but Iggy was already downing the whole thing and within seconds, it joined its brothers on the floor, empty and used.

Finally, his blurry vision got to him. "Where are they?" he asked, trying to scan the ground for them.

"They melted during the final phase of the God's Wrath spell." explained Erzembar.

"What?!"

"They may be re-materialized upon command. However, given the technology available, your eyes can be repaired to their original state immediately." suggested Erzembar.

"Y-you can do that?" asked Iggy, almost not believing it.

"Yes."

Iggy nodded. Something on the wall to his left unfolded, a strange cyan contraption that seemed to house many devices Iggy could not make out. One of these he saw fly into the air and zero in on his position. It had a round shape and glowed the same cyan color, and it flew to the level of Iggy's head. Suddenly, it emitted two red lasers directly into Iggy's eyes and he flinched in pain. Seconds later, the lasers ceased and the machine scanned Iggy's eyes and, seemingly satisfied, flew back to its station in the wall.

"Was the surgery adequate?" asked Erzembar.

Iggy stared at the ceiling he could not see, hidden somewhere surrounding that white star above him. His vision refocused and he saw the wall in front of him. Crisp and clear, he saw that some type of medical laboratory had unfolded from the wall, complete with a table and various monitors and strange instruments. His mouth hung open in amazement.

"Well?" pressed Erzembar, awaiting his response.

"Wow." was all Iggy could say. He had not seen without his glasses since he was an adolescent and that, combined with what he just went through, made him sit down on the floor in silence, leaning against the chair he had been sitting in earlier. Looking up, he saw the hologram surrounding him showing thousands of souls mentally still, all in shock from that great event, not able to speak or to move. It was a great unveiling that did more than Larry's words ever could, for while he talked about the truth, Iggy had showed it to them.

As he stared up at the ceiling, he heard voices calling out his name. Getting up, he sat back upon the chair and located their source.

"We have visitors." Iggy murmured to himself. Using the display, Iggy saw outside the front of the complex a group of people shouting his name. At the front of the group was someone he recognized.  
"Hi Kylie." said Iggy using a type of comm system. "I probably freaked you guys out, huh?"

"I'm not the one to worry about." Kylie replied, and behind her came two people hoisting a third on their shoulders: an unconscious Penny Crygor, with her head covered in blood. "She's dying Iggy, you need to help her." Kylie said, distraught.

"Penny?" Iggy looked inside of her mind and saw that her consciousness trapped. He sighed, filled with mixed feelings at that moment. His exhaustion seemed to dissipate more and more he saw things as they really were.

"Okay, I'll take a look at her." Iggy responded. Pulling out his wand, he pointed it in the direction of Penny and she flashed briefly before disappearing. She reappeared in front of Iggy, floating in mid air.  
Using his mind, he activated a medical mechanism that unfolded from the spiral wall across from him, illuminated by pale blue lights. A table was unfolded and he guided Penny's body towards it, eventually laying it down. Medical instruments aligned themselves towards his direction, but Iggy knew that Penny's case was not a physical injury, but a mental one. She was trapped in her own mind and could not get out.

"Preliminary analysis suggest a concussion." said Erzembar. "It appears she now lies in a coma."

"Not good." Iggy muttered. "And this was built only for my race, I take it?"

"The medical apparatus was not built to the design of humans." explained Erzembar. "While I do contain knowledge of the human genome, I can only help to the best of my knowledge acquired from past millennia."

"That's fine. I already know a few things about them." said Iggy. He had done medical analysis on Peach several times in the past at the request of Bowser, and had studied some of the human genome for his fights against the Mario Brothers as well. Iggy made a motion with his hand, and a blue display appeared in midair displaying Penny's DNA as well as the details concerning her muscular systems, nervous systems and otherwise.

"It does resemble ours in a way," said Iggy, "But what can wake someone from a coma? A reset of their neural network?"

"The resynchronization chamber." said Erzembar. Next to the table, another part of the wall unfolded into a long tubular chamber aligned to the horizontal plane. Floating robots, similar to what Iggy saw beforehand moved from the wall and using anti gravitational devices, made Penny's body once again float in the air. This time, they seemed to undress her and Iggy looked away immediately. Eventually he caved in and took a peek. He saw that they had taken off her clothes and covered her nether regions with some type of white strapping. Her body then flipped 90 degrees to the horizontal and floated into the tube. With the tube closed, metallic rings rotated around her upon the inner circumference of the device, glowing a cyan blue. The rings increased their speed until they were rapidly rotating to the point that several cyan circles were seen. A display came up behind the device, first displaying in ancient before quickly translating itself to common. The DNA model updated itself, outlining certain damaged genes. After taking a look, Iggy pointed and made some changes to the genetic structure, fixing the issue. From what he saw on the display, it would take at least 7 hours before she would be potentially healed.

"We have a transmission from the Earth Sphere." said Erzembar.

After a moment, Iggy walked back to the chair and sat down upon it. It twirled itself upwards to a point, and upon stopping Iggy glanced at the thought matrix surrounding him like a million stars sending light back and forth between each other. The ones that were shocked was what concerned him, those at the front lines of God's Wrath. He would have to address the problem himself and try to reassure them, but that would have to wait. He summoned what he knew to be the Spirit Sphere, one of the 3 spheres each designed to communicate between each other. They were designed for the 3 Kings, and Iggy immediately knew who was calling him, let alone being able to see in his mind who it was.  
The Spirit Sphere rose from a compartment in the ground in front of him, floating in mid air similar to what Penny had gone through before. The sphere was clear, and in a moment it glowed white before refocusing itself to a familiar face.

"Greetings." said King Ludwig. "I hope all is well on your side of this world. You seem to have lost your spectacles."

"Yeah, some kind of laser surgery." Iggy replied. "I'm still stunned. Penny is in a coma."

"I apologize for your setback and wish her a fast recovery." said Ludwig.

"Yeah." muttered Iggy. There was a silence for a while, as neither could find the words to sum up the whole experience they had each been through. Iggy knew that words were too limited of an expression for such a large event, having its roots back hundreds of years in the past only to culminate into a final showdown, with vengeance being the victor. In the aftermath of it, there was nothing to say, but there was everything to feel.

"I got to get these people back on their feet." said Iggy, breaking the silence.

"Which is one reason why I have contacted you." said Ludwig. "Your power here will be crucial in keeping together the common citizenry while deterring looting and mutiny. Another reason concerns a meeting I will be hosting during the evening here at what remains of Bowser's Castle. I have since renamed it to its former title, that being John's Castle of the medieval ages. It seems your spell had an effect on the brickwork, melting it and shaking loose its foundations to a catastrophic degree. All that remains is what was originally here before Bowser became the Earth King prior to my birth."

"Yes, I can see it from here." said Iggy. "A lot of things destroyed it. It was built using black magic, and Lemmy was also nearby to act as a conduit to channel the spell to the underworld. Frankly, Bowser's Castle was going to crumble one way or another."

"Despite the intent of the construction, I am still saddened to see our childhood home be destroyed as such." said Ludwig. "But in any event, a meeting will be held at John's Castle tonight after dusk, as with the power outage over the entire Kingdom, I inherently realize the absence of such necessities as keeping time on a device that requires electricity. Therefore I use the ancient method of timekeeping until a substitution can be implemented. The entire family, at least the number of us who have survived and returned to the castle will be attending."

"Wendy did not seem to make the fight after all." remarked Iggy.

"Unfortunately, but given her conscious it was somewhat inevitable." said Ludwig.

"I'm hearing voices." Ludwig's face on the Spirit Globe moved to the left to make way for King Larry's mug which materialized on the right.

"Please excuse us, but we were having a private conversation." said Ludwig.

"There is no such thing as privacy anymore." Larry pointed out.

"I have to agree." said Iggy.

"Then I assume you are well aware of the meeting I will be hosting tonight at John's Castle, yes?" inquired Ludwig.

"I overheard it. It's not like we wouldn't eventually go if we could." said Larry.

"The Koopa Kingdom is a mess." said Iggy. "I'm sure you have some kind of plan for it."

"I do have a plan," said Ludwig, "which is the prime topic of tonight’s meeting. Said plan must come into affect as soon as tomorrow. We must keep ourselves ahead of any riots or revolts that may arise. Failure to do so, and what remains of the kingdom will collapse and the flames of fate will turn the people into a new direction."

"This might not have to do with Iggy, but I would keep an eye on all of your servants." Larry suggested. "I had a couple already try to back stab me before they were caught, since they were agents of the UmNaru that learned about their defeat."

"Some lesser workers of theirs might have survived God's Wrath." explained Iggy. "I will have to go over exactly what happened with that spell, as it has major consequences."

"Indeed." said Ludwig, agreeing. "I am impressed you managed to survive one of the most potent white magic spells in existence, given our exposure to black magic over the years. You will have to tell us your tale when we gather tonight."

"That and many more, though with things on my end that need my supervision, I will have to leave somewhat early." said Iggy.

"Very well." said Ludwig. "There is one other small matter, Iggy. If you don't mind, please bring my wife with you as I am sure she is anxiously awaiting me."

"Alright. What about the submarine?" asked Iggy.

"Ha! That's how you did it." exclaimed Larry.

Ludwig chucked. "Quite so. As useful as it was, now it will be more of a use to you Iggy then it is to me."

"I'll think about it." said Iggy. "Anyway, I'll be there tonight and we can sort out what to do next."

"Yeah, we need to figure out where to go from here," said Larry, "Especially what's going to happen to the kingdom during the shift. There's no way they can ride that out the way things are now."

"I assure you, a plan has been drawn up and the details are being filled in." said Ludwig. "I must now attend to some duties, and I hope to see you both tonight. Farewell."

"Very well. Take care." said Iggy. The Spirit Globe flashed and the light dissipated and the globe returned to its clear state before making its way back down into the floor. Iggy got off of his chair and made his way to Penny, surrounded by spinning wheels of blue. As expected, it was going to take her all night to heal. Iggy looked at her for a while, knowing that without her he would have to manage her colony within the Temple of Inauro. This forced him to shoulder more responsibilities, hopefully only temporarily. If worst came to worst, he could move them into Erzembar, but he hoped it would never come to that. Penny was a good friend and he didn't want to lose her, especially in a world where friendship was starting to mean everything.

After looking at her for a while, Iggy decided to explore the rest of Erzembar to pass the time before departing to the Koopa Kingdom. Walking out of the room, he decided to check out the next most important thing: his bedroom.

* * *

The moon softly billowed its light across the city, now dark and motionless save for the multitudes of candles that flickered in the endless windows that remained intact. Even with the limited light, Ludwig could see the devastation in the shadows as he peered across a precipice that was once a hallway to the lesser mess hall. He remarked to himself how everything seemed to resemble the middle ages now, how everything was quickly thrown backward with the absence of electricity. It was the price of dependence, the inability to sustain ones self independently. It was a skill to be discussed once all were in attendance.

There was a small flash of light and in front of Ludwig appeared his younger brother, now King Iggy Koopa and alongside him was Kylie, whom with a stare of awe, took in her husbands new appearance.  
"Welcome back, Queen Kylie Koopa." Ludwig said with a smile.

"You're so huge." she remarked, unable to get her eyes off the horns. "How can I sleep with you now? You will take up the whole bed!"

"Nonsense. You have clearly never seen my father's bedroom. It is nothing to worry about." said Ludwig.

"Plus, there's a little something you have to do." hinted Iggy.

"Geez, you are totally cat and mouse." muttered Kylie.

"I can't spoil the fun. I'll let Erzembar explain it for everyone, as it doesn't just apply to only you two."

"Very well." said Ludwig. "I understand your time is short, so let us adjourn inside and talk amongst the dining." Leading the way, Ludwig walked down the hall with an almost miniature Kylie who seemed stunned at the new development. Iggy walked behind them, simply watching the two in front of him. They crossed a hallway before passing under a large archway that led to a rustic dining hall. It was clearly in medieval style and Iggy wondered why he had not seen this part of the castle before. With red and golden carpets, and old stone tables and cups and archetypal silverware, it was certainly a blast from the past. Around the circular table were a few of the Koopalings, with King Larry waving to the trio before resuming his conversation with Morton. Ludwig and Kylie sat on one end of the table and conversed amongst themselves. Lemmy sat by himself near the head of the table, with his hands behind his head, apparently contemplating something. He did not respond to their entrance, and it wasn't until Iggy sat down did he take notice.

"So why is everybody getting horns?" asked Lemmy.

"Because there are 3 kings." said Iggy.

"Well, that's not fair." Lemmy complained. "Let me guess, Spirit King?"

"Exactly. Here's a suggestion." said Iggy. "Don't let it get to you. Keep yourself busy."

Lemmy sighed and seemed fidgety. To Iggy, he looked like he wanted to do something, but did not know what.

"Be patient." Iggy advised. "You will have a part to play soon enough."

Koopa's were seen walking into the room, but they were not the usual waiters. To Iggy and Larry, they seemed to be volunteers from the city. Judging by the looks on their faces, they didn't seem at all angry about their jobs, although expected signs of distress were apparent. Eventually, Ludwig noticed Iggy's gaze.

"They are volunteers to serve in the kitchen for the short term." Ludwig explained. "As you imagine, most staff had fled the area long before our fight with the UmNaru. In exchange for their services, I give them food and a place to rest."

"There's one way to keep your image." said Iggy.

"You do what you have to do." commented Larry. "Right now, you're lucky people are behaving the way they are."

"Indeed, and I am well aware how short such a peace will be." said Ludwig. "The power plants have not come on-line due to roadways blocked by debris and hubris, the laymen failing to report to their positions and the necessary parts required to repair broken infrastructure unreachable due to said roadways becoming ruptured. Therefore, I have shut off the nuclear power plants permanently."

Iggy nodded. He figured that was what Ludwig was going for.

"The big problem, I think is that most people have no idea how to survive without the system in place." explained Larry. "They were never taught to, they have no motivation to because life is taught to be all about being comforted by big daddy corporate."

"Oh, and don't forget the religion that duped them all into it. Their spells were memorizing." said Iggy.

"You mean music and entertainment?" asked Lemmy, frowning. "Yeah, I know all about it. All those stars were controlled by the UmNaru, and pretty much sold their souls to demons. It kept them alive and kept everything going."

"Exactly. But when you take that away from them, what do they do?" asked Iggy. "They're thinking it will all come back, that the king will fix everything and feed them all again with a silver spoon. When you grow up like that, you don't expect anything else unless you look at yourself the hard way. Most people don't know how to do that. And now that the UmNaru are gone, their control over almost every aspect of life is suddenly gone. It's like lifting a veil from your eyes that you never saw, until it was lifted. Do you get it?"

"Yeah, I got it." said Lemmy. "My question is, what will people do without entertainment? They have to do something else, whatever it is."

"Most demonic spells have been broken by the God's Wrath spell." explained Iggy. "Nearly all those demonic souls are gone now and is one reason why so many people are stunned. Whether they return to normal depends on their mentality. From what I can see, most will not be able to accept what they see as their new reality, and will wish to return to their old ways of life. This denial will develop into insanity."

"Not surprised." Larry commented. "Especially if we don't do anything about it and just let things go down the road its on now. What would happen if the magic that was used on them was exposed during your announcement?"

"I do not believe that to be wise." said Ludwig. "It is a lesson learned from my father's administration: Do not expose what they do not suspect. As they were unaware of their initiation into the darker powers, so they will be unaware during their withdrawal. This is the policy I recommend, as this is along the lines of Ignatius's expertise."

Iggy nodded. "I will do what I can. But for now, I think we need to remember that the forces that used to run this world have lost their power, and we need to step up to the plate and show everyone what life can really be like. We are the role models now." There was some silence as people absorbed the meaning behind Iggy's words.

"How do you plan on making your announcement anyway?" Larry asked.

"There are back up generators available to supply the fundamental components required for such an event." said Ludwig.

"I have a better idea." said Iggy. "Let's use Erzembar to announce Ludwig and myself. That way we can both say what we need to say to everyone, instead of localizing it. I have working satellites in orbit that should do the job."

"A splendid idea, Ignatius." said Ludwig. "I will accept your generous offer."

"So you can't get the power back on because the roads are ripped up." said Morton. "But where are the guys responsible for that stuff? Shouldn't they be, you know, repairing it?"

"Like I have stated, the layman has simply refused to report to work." said Ludwig. "A great portion of my day was dedicated to this issue throughout the remains of government and within the social services. The ministry of transportation was all but a belligerency, its master having committed suicide and their staff turning towards my person for answers. The department of the interior had mostly fled well before the UmNaru appeared at what was formally Bowser's Castle, and at the moment the department is nearly vacant. The armed forces have shown signs of mutiny, but for the moment I have sent the soldiers home to be with their loved ones. Those are but a few of the many issues I have dealt with today. However, considering my plan and the long term consequences of the pole shift and the inevitable destruction it will cause, this time period could be seen as a blessing in disguise."

"How is that a blessing?" argued Morton. "There's no way to track these people now, no way to know what they're doing."

"The main concern now is survival, which is the basis of this plan." said Ludwig. "Given the current state of the kingdom and considering the fate of the land mass underneath us, our best chance of survival will be migration. The kingdom as it now stands is practically unlivable, completely unlivable after the pole shift."

"Where are you thinking?" asked Larry.

"They wont take the North Pole idea too well." commented Iggy. "No offence to you, Lemmy."

"How do you know?" Lemmy asked.

"Trust me, I know." said Iggy. "I can see the thoughts of everyone, if you didn't know yet. That's not to say you won't get anyone else."

"The solution is not practical, despite Lemmy's position in the aftertime." said Ludwig. "The people will want a comfortable location, so balancing their needs with what is required in order to survive is essential. Therefore, only certain routes and shelters have been selected." He took out a rolled parchment and lay it across the center of the table. On it was a pencilled drawing of the Koopa Kingdom upon quad rule paper, including the sea and the mountains that surrounded it as well as major cities and landmarks. Various lines were seen drawn in many directions and with different notations. The Koopalings leaned in to look at it, and Larry got up from his seat.

"Okay, Erzembar wants a few words about this plan." said Iggy.

"Very well." With his hand, Ludwig made something in the corner levitate into the air, then moved it towards the side of the table before placing it down next to him. It was the Earth Globe, placed upon the black pedestal that Lemmy had used before. The globe glowed white and an image of a metallic structure came into view shadowed by red lights.

"I have contact, your majesty." said Erzembar. "Please proceed with your plan, King Ludwig."

"Greetings, Erzembar." said Ludwig. "Here is the general overview of the plan. For those of you unaware of my activities, I have been constructing my own shelter for many years, approaching a decade now. It is located within the western Koopa Crags, and will be in a prime location after the shift. This site will be the first target for relocation and I have already ironed out most of the details, barring unknown variables regarding the Koopahari Pass.

"The next are of concern is Genlic. I am unaware of your current capacity, Larry."

"It's close to full right now." responded Larry. "I was planning on saving what room I have left to those who really need it. Not much more than 1,000 spots or so left."

"I was afraid of that." said Ludwig. "In that case, I must move on to the next person of interest, being Ignatius. I must inquire of your new facility and whether it houses the accommodations necessary to be considered a survival shelter."

"Actually, it does." said Iggy. "About 58,000 inhabitants or so."

"Excellent, then we shall clear the Koopahari Pass from recent debris and relocate the first half of the populace between our locations."

"I must advise you, King Ludwig." said Erzembar. "Underground shelters are not known to survive pole shifts, most often due to problems unseen beforehand."

Ludwig frowned. "Such as?"

"Rock under stress create emissions currently unknown to the Koopa race." stated Erzembar. "There are particles undiscovered that influence your reality, and these can become an issue when the tectonics are under stress. Gases may also leak from closed crevasses, such as argon and other deadly elements. Earthquakes trap those underground by blocking artificial tunnels leaving no pathway to escape. Established hierarchy and hired arms disassemble and fight amongst themselves for the resources that still remain. Despite my warnings, I have seen many kings in past ages attempt to shelter within the Earth, only to find them becoming mass graves."

Ludwig inhaled. "This is no ordinary shelter. While it may be contained underground for the time being, Ludwig's Castle itself is not carved into any rock face, but is its own separate structure. Capable of holding tens of thousands of people with comfortable arrangements, it was built to withstand what the pole shift may bring upon it. It was not meant to spend exuberant amounts of time underground."

"Oh?"

"After the shift occurs, I will open the tops of the crags themselves as they are now completely in my control. Considering the mountain construction scheduled to occur as our land mass collides with the Sarasaland plate, the western crags will see minimal activity in this regard."

"Is that even possible?" asked Morton in disbelief. "Opening up the top of a mountain like that, you need so much power behind it and look, we don't have any! Otherwise you need explosives. Did you set charges or something?"

"Indeed, there are many other methods in which the castle may free itself." said Ludwig. "Once this occurs, the castle will be able to life itself into the air and travel towards a destination that is sustainable for growth."

"Well, you weren't kidding about it flying." remarked Lemmy. "But Iggy's friend here has a point. People may try to take your spot as leader even before the shift is over. I would think of something clever to maintain order."

"Lemmy is correct." said Erzembar. "Especially with shelters with goods that will be considered extravagant. This will attract those who wish to maintain their former lifestyles and will stop at nothing to ensure that this continues, often at the price of others. Consider this a warning."

Ludwig was silent as he thought to himself for a while. "Noted." he said finally, but he said nothing else.

"If I were to migrate from the kingdom, I would do it on foot." said Lemmy. "And I would need to know how to survive out there in the wild first. Most people should be given a basic course on how to do that. I don't like the idea of holding the hole, I want to stay on the move."

"Speaking of that, do any of us know how to survive on our own?" asked Larry.

"Considering how pampered we are..." muttered Iggy. "...3 of us are kings now, and we're still pampered. It doesn't cross the mind because you don't want to think about the alternative. You think about something, you attract it to you."

"That leaves the rest of us in the dark." said Morton. "At least put a survival training program or something in your announcement. If Lemmy is going open field, he's going to need to know this stuff, at least that's what I think he's doing."

"That's what I would do." said Lemmy.

"No problem." came a deep voice, and everyone turned their heads to the entranceway. There they saw Roy Koopa slowly walking forward and many looked shocked at the damage done to him. The right side of his face seemed to had bubbled up and distorted itself from Lemmy's blast, and his glasses were gone. In their place were two dark squinting eyes that stared at the group in front of him unblinking.

"Thought so." he muttered, looking at Ludwig.

"Indeed." said Ludwig.

"Where's Wendy?" he asked.

"Dungeon level 5 asylum." said Ludwig. "She was unable to mentally handle the white magic, and is now...unstable."

"Junior." grunted Roy.

"Killed." Ludwig put bluntly. "Mostly disintegrated by the legendary God's Wrath spell, though his bones remained. He was given the proper defeated combatant funeral."

"People that were heavily saturated by black magic simply disintegrated." added Iggy.

Roy huffed. After a moment, he turned and stared at Lemmy who simply returned his glance. Nothing happened for some time and many were afraid to tip the delicate balance in that moment. Lemmy refused to look away, not after long years of torture under Roy and was not afraid to defend himself again if the need arose.

"Roy, sit down." Larry ordered. Another moment, and Roy finally broke the glaring contest to look at his younger brother.

"Very well." he said sarcastically before find an empty seat at the table and sitting down. Lemmy sighed and relaxed.

"You possess skills necessary for self sufficient survival?" asked Ludwig.

Roy nodded. "I have debts to pay. Many of them. Payed some...lots left. I will pay it all. Don't care how long it takes, what I have to do. That light showed me somethin..." He looked a Lemmy again for a moment, but moved back to Ludwig. "I have to fix dis. All of it. I will start here."

"Explaining what is required to survive in the wild to ourselves would be a great beginning towards that endeavor." suggested Ludwig.

Roy hummed. "Very well. I will tell you all how to live. No comforts, no treats." But he looked out the window and stared at the night sky for a moment. "Tomorrow. It's been a long day."

"Yes, we must continue." said Ludwig. "As stated, much of the populace is scheduled for relocation towards the Koopahari pass, where much will be designated to either Ludwig Castle or Erzembar. Is this fine with you, Ignatius?"

"I would be a monster if I refused." said Iggy. "Or called insincere if I agree, after what I did. Once I make my unveiling tomorrow, I think that will be my problem."

"Those who follow you will know better." said Lemmy. "I see your point though."

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case." said Ludwig. "At times, we flow in the winds of fate, unable to hinder or impede its movement. Then our inner faith becomes our impetus and I am confident you are well aware of this."

"That's all I can rely on at the moment..." murmured Iggy. "But what about the rest of the population? Between us, not everyone will be able to squeeze inside what we can offer."

"Which leads to the next phase of my plan." explained Ludwig. "Those who choose not to take shelter within our encampments have another possibility before them: migration into the lands that will inevitably become hospitable for practical living." Taking something next to his chair, he rolled out a map under his penciled drawing that clearly showed the Koopa Kingdom after the pole shift.

"I didn't know dis." muttered Roy.

"Most continents around the world shall be displaced and turned within a counter-clockwise rotation of slightly less than 90 degrees." explained Ludwig. "As the greater parts of the Koopa Kingdom lie surrounded by crags to our north, east and west, as well as the southern Koopa Sea to our south, staying in place will obviously have devastating effects. Most of the kingdom will halt within the Arctic circle, with the former west becoming the new south. The new north pole will be somewhere to our present day Northwest, just over the crags. Frankly, the soil and rock which we now stand upon will be inhospitable after the shift, and in many areas there is a great chance of flash freezing."

"And that is?" asked Morton.

"Basically," Iggy started, stretching his arms, "The continent moves so quickly under a cold air mass that, combined with the hurricane force winds and the resulting wind chill, everything is frozen on the spot. This includes people, too."

"So we cannot stay here." said Morton.

"Essentially." affirmed Ludwig. "The entire kingdom must be vacated. It is within our histories that our people have lived within different lands, as the Koopahari has shown. There is another land, the northern reaches of the Koopai that show many signs of past habitation. It will be a prime site once the shift ends and will become an excellent location for farming. I would like to ask you, Morton Koopa Junior to lead the migration into this area."

"Woah woah, wait a second. Me?" Morton said, startled.

"Yes. The northern shores of this land will become the west, resulting in great precipitation due to the changed air flows. The climate, while a cold temperate at the moment, will become a more mild temperate and shall be an excellent location for the future Koopa Kingdom. As the land also lies directly between the Koopahari desert as well as my own encampment within the crags, our peoples can easily locate towards your position when the time comes. Therefore, your participation in this effort is vital, especially considering your standing with the common denizen. I do hope you accept my proposal."

"I'd be heckled down my throat by all the former lobbyists and middle men who want a piece of the pie, you know." said Morton. "They can't rely on themselves unless you count taking a shit on everyone they steal from as counting on yourself."

"That will not be a concern," said Ludwig, "As the government type is known to withdraw themselves into fortresses such as mine. Also considering the current state of affairs, I highly doubt the current government will be functioning for much longer. As long as you enforce your own policies, you shall do well."

"Yeah, I know that." said Morton. "I guess it's just getting into that mind set of knowing you don't have a place to live. I don't like doing it and I'm sure there's people down there who'd rebel against leaving as well. But it's something you have to do." He nodded to himself. "Alright."

"A person for this position must be simultaneously strong and unyielding, yet open to the demands of others." stated Ludwig. "For example, Lemmy possesses this diplomacy with great skill, but is too easily pushed by the more selfish. Roy is quite the opposite: a strong character not afraid to achieve, yet unyielding to most demands and can be rather non-negotiable. I do not mean to be offensive of course."

"I've changed a little." commented Roy.

"I do hope that is the case. However, my point is this: Morton possesses a good balance of these characteristics and I believe he is the top candidate for the position of leading the greater bulk of the populace into the new Koopai lands as immigrants. As leader of this group, you shall be responsible for coordinating with the owners of conclaves and hideouts such as my own for the distribution of citizens, as well as dealing with local villages and townsfolk upon arrival."

"Yup, more politics." Morton said. "Trust me buddy, I know politics well enough. You had to learn it if you wanted to stay in the news bizz. I say we should get this done while we can. Power's out, economy's not working, so we're going to run out of gas real quick. We gotta use as many vehicles as we can right now before we run out."

"Once the roads are cleared of debris, this would be a wise decision." said Ludwig.

"As long as there are roads to use, that is." mentioned Iggy. "With the way things are going, they'll all be ripped up in no time."

"Well, I say use things while you can." said Morton. "And if I only have a few roads I can drive on, then so be it."

"So be it indeed." said Erzembar. "I approve of this plan."

"Do we have your approval, Larry?" asked Ludwig.

Larry looked at the map. "Lemmy, are you going back to your ice palace?"

"Yeah." replied Lemmy.

"If you have anyone else you want to bring with you, I would do it now." Larry suggested. "Morton's right about the fuel problem."

"There are a few that will come up with me." mentioned Lemmy. "But most will not. I still have my ship too that I brought down and I'm pretty sure it doesn't use gas. I cloaked it, but they never found it."

"I really need to see your place sometime." commented Iggy.

"Okay, what about the people who don't want to leave?" asked Larry. "What do we do with them?" There was a moment of silence.

"Then they stay." said Ludwig.

Larry glared at his brother, but the Earth King seemed unconcerned. "It is their choice. We are not responsible for their own fates, and if their intellectual capacity is unable to overcome the onset of denial concerning the increasing earth changes, then they will most likely refuse to relocate. That is their choice, not mine."

"Then who's going to look after what's left of the kingdom when most of it has packed up and moved off?" asked Larry.

"I'll do it." Roy huffed. There were some concerned glances around the table, but Roy continued. "The dangerous type stay behind. Those who murder, those who steal. They will take everything they see. They will think the land lawless. You need someone who knows how to deal with them, and I am your Koopa."

"I will consider it." said Ludwig.

"I recommend it, actually." said Larry. "And not just for his background. Remember, he still needs to redeem himself. This is a good way to do it. Let me know what you think."

"Well then, that settles it." said Iggy.

"I'm getting sleepy." mentioned Lemmy. "I think we should call it a night."

"Indeed." said Ludwig. "It is late, and I still have much to do."

"In the morning, I'll contact you before I make my announcement using Erzembar." said Iggy. "And we should work things out from there."

"Very well." said Ludwig.

"There is another way to announce the newly appointed presence of a king." said Erzembar.

"Such as?" asked Iggy.

"Assemble this same group in this location tomorrow morning, and I will disclose the instructions necessary." said Erzembar. "I believe that your minds currently need to rest and will be unable to efficiently handle the new information in the current moment. As Roy Koopa stated earlier, it has been a long day indeed. Please get some rest. This is especially recommended for Kylie, who will become the new Queen of the Earth." With that, the globe faded to black leaving them in silence. Kylie, who had sat in silence up until this point deep in thought about everything, finally stirred.

"Does that mean that I will become a giant like you three?" she asked. "That must feel so weird."

"Ah, she awakens from silence." Ludwig noted.

"Sorry, I kind of zoned out. I do have some ideas, I really do. There's just a lot going on and I'm tired."  
"We shall adjourn for the evening." said Ludwig. "Morton and Roy may spend the night here. There are guest bedrooms on the floor above us. To King Ignatius and King Lawrence, I bid you a good night and wish to see you both after the dawn."

Larry sighed, getting up along with Iggy nearby. "Yeah, that was a lot to take in. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Taking out the Blood Wand, he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Yup, see you later." Taking out his own wand, Iggy disappeared in a flash of light before reappearing inside the Temple of Erzembar inside of what he called the "throne room," which consisted of his swirling chair from earlier and Penny Crygor floating inside of a medical device.

Iggy walked over to her. The statistics had changed: a little over 3 hours were left before she would be considered fully healed. Her DNA structure looked much more healthy now, and it seemed the biggest thing left to do was to reconnect her neural inputs to her consciousness, and from there to her senses. Iggy sighed, glad that progress was being made.

A thought came to him then, something concerning one of his brothers and he couldn't help but laugh to himself. "I wish that happened sometimes." he said aloud, but he looked down at Penny and quieted himself. "Sometimes." he murmured. He suddenly remembered the last time he had seen porn since this whole thing began and he laughed to himself again. Walking away, he knew that wouldn't be a problem anymore with how he saw everything. But wait, was that even ethical? Iggy pondered this thought in his tired mind as he walked towards the elevator that first brought him there. "You know, that is the best way." he said to himself. Doing things physically was far better sometimes. He hoped he could remember that the next morning. Living out the desires of the heart had always troubled him, but perhaps he could learn a thing or two from peeking at a few people in the kingdom as examples. Smiling, the elevator doors closed and the machine shot upwards to his abode for the night.


	30. Bury the Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ongoing destruction begins to affect the Koopalings and otherwise, forcing them to make choices in their personal lives. Meanwhile, Luigi continues his trek to find his lost love Daisy.

King Larry Koopa arrived inside of his bedroom with a flash of light. He growled almost immediately, emotion long pent up during the meeting. While he did not physically show it, the battle and the aftermath had a major toll on his emotions and he had little support save for his own willpower along with some self medication. It was dark outside and yet the temperature was comfortable with a cool breeze that blew past the pillars of the walls, making the curtains dance in the air. 

He went to his dresser and grabbed a bottle of the Mad Scientist, one of Iggy's concoctions. Drinking a gulp of it, he then headed towards an empty space in the wall which suddenly revealed itself to be an archway to his bathroom. Walking to the sink, he splashed water on his face. He needed to get some rest and stop worrying about what was going on. He had a lot of things to do in the morning, including looking after Genlic since his absence but at least now he could try to get some rest. But the key to that was the state of mind and calm emotions.

Larry sighed. His eyes were lowering, and after a few moments he managed to exert the effort needed get his legs walking again. But upon exiting the bathroom, he noticed someone sitting on the massive bed in the center of the room. It was Mona, who was bent forward with her chin in her hand, seemingly thinking about something. After a moment, Larry walked forward and put his arm on his bureau, and simply looked at her. They didn't say anything for a while.

“I can't do this by myself.” she finally said. “The work is too hard. All the people around me have their own jobs already. They only help out a little, you know? Then they go back to their normal thing. It was nice when you were around more often, stuff got done faster.”

“I've been busy trying to save my kingdom.” said Larry.

“Did you save it?” Mona asked.

“Yeah, more or less.”

“Good. Then please stay put and help out. I can't do this by myself. You have to put new people underneath you or something...”

“Yeah, I'm going to reorganize the board soon.” said Larry. “I'll be adding more members. Don't worry, you'll keep your position.”

“It's just a lot of stress.” said Mona. “I didn't grow up like this you know.”

The winds picked up, rustling the curtains into the air before a sudden gust burst into the room. Thinking quickly, Larry flicked his wrist and the outside was closed off, the walls seemingly growing on themselves to close the gaps.

Larry walked over to the transparent walls and looked outside. He saw the moon in the sky above the Eastern Koopa sea shining brightly above a now turbulent ocean. The moon suddenly started moving to the south and he felt gusts of wind pound against the walls.

“What's going on?” asked Mona.

“Either the moon just moved on its own, or we just did.” replied Larry.

“Well, so much for using that to tell time.” said Mona. “The eclipses have been all wacky too.”

“As long as the sun still rises, we will be fine.” said Larry. After some time, the moon halted its progress and slowly receded back towards the south, and the winds slowly died down.

“Wobble.” Larry muttered to himself.

“Huh?” 

“Planet is wobbling in place.” explained Larry. He walked back to his bureau and took another shot of the Mad Scientist.

“You drink too much. No wonder you're half asleep every morning.” said Mona.

“It's how I deal with it.” said Larry.

“There are other ways.” said Mona, “Become more involved. If you go down there and plant some things yourself, then--”

“I have.” claimed Larry. “I have my own garden. It's private, so you haven't seen it. But...it's not enough.” He become lost in thought.

“You should try and work more with others.” said Mona. “People don't know you too well here. Being out in the open will give them an idea of who you really are, instead of having them see you as a scary guy on top.”

“Isn't that why you're here?” asked Larry.

Mona looked away. “Maybe.”

“You're trying to figure me out.” 

“You're that mysterious guy who runs it all and says nothing about himself.” said Mona. “You think I'm not going to get a little curious?”

“Truth be told,” began Larry, “There's a lot of people out there that deserve more than I do. I'm greedy, I want everything. Money, jewels, good food, everything. I was in charge of the castle treasury in my younger days. Why? I'm selfish. But I also started this, because it feels like I have to make up for what I did, you know? I have to make that choice. Caring about myself or for other people. I want to care about others, but will this project change me?”

“You almost sound like a guy I used to know.” said Mona.

“Did he have a conscience?” Larry asked.

Mona looked down. “I wanted him to.”

Wario's last moments were not forgotten by Larry, and neither was that entire day for that matter. The events of the past few months were moments forever engraved into his memory. Forced to grow out of his father's shell, he had created his own and became one of the three kings, a hacker and near drunk suddenly thrust into the light and seen for what he was. He knew he had to change, and he knew how to act his part. But how much was he hiding?

Larry reached for his liquor, but something stopped his arm.

“Time is a fleeting thing.” he muttered to himself.

“What?” asked Mona, unable to understand his mumbling.

Larry turned back around. There was nothing to hide from the old world, when he was helping to create a new.

“I don't want to lose any of this world I helped make. Even though I am going to lose something. It's going to happen. I already lost a lot, and I gained a lot in place. But when the shift happens--”

“Larry, richness starts in here.” Mona pointed at her heart. “It's not outside of you, it's in here.”

“I know.” Larry nodded. “That's not...I helped create this because I wanted it. That's not it though. When we start losing people from death, disease, whatever...I fear losing myself.”

Mona said nothing. The moon had long been covered by dark clouds coming from the northwest, now racing towards Genlic. The shifting globe had moved Genlic under the colder air masses to the north which now tried to find their equilibrium. A light snow began to fall upon the rocky desert below, something that caught Larry's eye. Walking to the window, he fumbled with the words he wanted to say but none of it seemed logical.

“I'm hitting a brick wall.” he said. “But I was the one who made it. I can see all that passes on the outside. I cannot be ruled by fear, whatever sacred is left cannot be tarnished. That's how they took hold of me. It will happen again unless...I can let go of who I was. Is that even possible?”

“Who are you?” asked Mona.

Larry was silent for a moment. “A coward.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Being hurt...no, more than that. What matters. Getting close to people. Relationships.” He shook his head. “I don't like feeling vulnerable. I've been with people, one of them is somewhere in this place. But our hearts were not fully open, were they? You know they will go away in the end. We knew that it was going to-”

“Don't love somebody out of loneliness.” said Mona, turning back towards the entrance. “You have to let go of your old life and become the role model you're supposed to be. Hiding yourself from everyone else is just like what your enemy did, right? If you don't want that to happen again, then share your problems and we'll try to help you. Just tell me or one of us.”

Larry said nothing, but he really couldn't say anything. His anxiety was too great for him to speak, let alone do anything.

“If you keep hiding yourself, then you're just doing what they did.” With that, Mona walked out of the room leaving a very uncomfortable Larry in contemplation, watching her walk down the hall.

* * *

“...where are you?”

She blinked up at the darkness. Realizing she was awake, Penny Crygor sat up on the table, clueless as to what had happened to her. She found herself within a large room against a metallic wall, with a chair that sat upon a pedestal in the center and illuminated by a single light from underneath. She saw her clothes below her on the floor, folded and covered in dried blood. She then noticed her new garment: a white one piece covered in a strange language, and fastened about her waist with a golden belt studded with a rainbow of jewels. 

“What...?” She adjusted her glasses, not sure if she could believe what she saw. She knew her consciousness had not been entirely accurate since her injury, but was this real? Had she been injured again? She bent down and touched the folded clothes on the ground and indeed, it seemed to be real, blood and all. Seemingly on cue, she had a flashback to that moment in the desert. Kylie said something to her, and she should have listened.

Penny closed her eyes and rocked back and forth. Her life was being swept along by the winds of fate. She needed to regather herself and remember that what she had was all she had. Analyzing was one thing, but surviving was another. It was a different mindset. Her injuries were trying to tell her something.

“Perception is subjective.” she said to herself. Being absolute in ones point of view makes one as tough as a rock, but unable to handle the winds of change when they blow. It was something Penny had a hard time with, but she knew that if she was going to survive from this point forward, she was going to have open her mind a little bit.

Penny opened her eyes. She didn't quite know where she was, but considering the vastness of the place and excluding all other logical fallacies, she was probably somewhere in that pyramid she had seen earlier. Who had brought her there was another question. Penny had heard about the UmNaru from Kylie, and about the takeover of the Koopa Kingdom. She knew that storm had something to do with it all, but didn't know if its intent of malicious or otherwise. 

Regardless, Penny needed to find some answers. She hopped down from the table and remembering the clothes on the ground, briefly considered taking off the strange outfit she wore. However, after unfolding her clothes and seeing how stained they were, she instead decided to carry them with her and only put on her boots that lay next to them. 

On impulse, she looked at the hieroglyphic language that covered the entirety of the robe. While she couldn't read it as it was not based upon anything she had seen at the Temple of Inauro thus far, it was definitely Koopa related which further supported her previous hypothesis. Penny wondered if Iggy had anything to do with this, but considering how long it had been since the Galaxy broke up...

Looking around for an exit, she spotted what appeared to be an elevator off to her right. She walked towards it, hopeful that she could find her way out of the place. As she approached it, the doors seemed to open automatically and Penny walked inside. As the doors closed, she noticed an array of unlabeled buttons and wondered how anybody could remember them all, but the elevator moved on its own, shooting upwards against the wall. She noted the spiral designs on the other side of the room, where a long walkway seemed to spiral upwards. Penny had heard about the spiral designs being found on the walls of prehistoric caves, but did not know their meaning. 

She wondered how old this place really was, but her view was suddenly cut off as layers of metal flew by her, along with fleeting glimpses of other floors, all dimly lit. Eventually the metal transitioned to stone, and the floors likewise did. The elevator stopped at one of these, a floor made of ancient concrete and dimply lit with strange lights lining the walls, but they did nothing to penetrate the darkness above. The elevator doors opened, but Penny hesitated. Was this the right stop? If not, then why would it stop here? Was it a trap? Or was this the last stop used? She didn't know, but considering the change in building construction, she guessed that she was getting closer to her goal.

Stepping out, Penny cautiously walked down the corridor, her footfalls echoing off the walls. The elevator closed behind her and moved downward, leaving her alone. She continued forward, her course now set before her. She passed by many side passages and several other rooms, but knew better and stuck to the main path. It went on for quite some time and there was nothing but silence, save her own footsteps and her own breathing.

She passed by another room to her right, but one of the double doors opened inward seemingly in response. She stopped and darted her eyes towards the doors, wondering if she was being watched. The place had seemed all but empty since her awakening, yet somebody was responsible for putting her here. From her spot, she couldn't see anything inside the unlit room save for the outline of what appeared to be a bed of some kind. 

After a moment, her logic returned to her. “I don't believe in ghosts.” she quipped, turning back and continuing along her way towards her hopeful exit. As time passed, she became more pressed to find a way out, but the walls remained the same, the lighting remained consistent and none of the side passages gave any clues to deviating from such symmetry.

After several minutes of walking, a voice was heard ahead, seemingly rambling to itself. It grew louder as Penny approached a bend in the path with a set of double doors before it. 

“No thank you, I've had enough. Yes, you will return to your normal state but you'll have to adjust to it since that's never happened int his age yet. Me? Why? I just did my duty, are you saying you would rather be asleep?”

It was definitely Iggy's voice, but he made no sense, unless he were in a crowd and yet no other voices were heard. Reluctantly, Penny gently pushed the doors open. Inside was a large room dimly lit, with soft lights illuminating the walls. Straight across from the door was a circular bed with an over-sized and horned Iggy laying upon it with a pair of boxers, his shell laying on the floor nearby. With his eyes closed, he seemed to be talking to himself in his sleep. It was certainly an odd spectacle, never mind Iggy's sudden growth spurt making him resemble Bowser. It seemed to Penny that he was talking to his thoughts at first, but she quickly dismissed the idea. This was far more organized and deliberate.

“Go anywhere near him, and you enter the realm of the weird.” Penny said to herself, but she couldn't help but smile. It was something that she had gotten used to, probably more so than most. There was only one thing left to do.

She walked over to him and tugged on his shoulder. “Hey Iggy-”

Iggy's head turned towards her, his eyes still closed. “Yes? Oh, hi Penny.”

“Um, are you sleeping?” she asked.

“We are always asleep in one world and awake in another.” he replied. Iggy tried to stand up on his bed, but this proved futile and and he collapsed back down on it face first. “Thanks! No that's fine, I'll take care of it. It's not that hard, talk to Geraldo. Hey Penny...there you are.”

“Who are you talking with?” Penny asked.

Iggy chuckled. “Take a look!” He stumbled to his feet successfully and without looking, walked in Penny's direction. He touched her arm and suddenly her vision shifted dramatically. The room took a lighter color and was crowded with people, all surrounding the two and demanding Iggy's attention. Penny suddenly felt tired and lost control of her body, dropping her clothes onto the floor. But Iggy, with his eyes open in whatever reality this was, caught her and and lay her on his bed. 

“You're sleeping now.” he claimed. “It's fine if you can't get up, I'm almost done talking to these guys.” Penny watched him turn around and lay down next to her and resumed answering their questions. Their noise seemed to be a culmination of an event she was unaware of, but her consciousness did not seem to be so self aware in this reality and she flowed through the dream like the wind. All she could do was watch.

“No, this is not the end.” Iggy claimed. “Not the end of us, but the end of those who controlled us. It was a rebalancing in ways. You will see me tomorrow, even though the power is out everywhere now. It has been arranged. We will not abandon you if you do not abandon yourself. Think of everyone around you, then take action. Don't ponder the worst, but keep yourself busy.” 

There was a sudden light from above that illuminated the entire room and Penny awoke from her sleep to the concrete ceiling high above her. She did not know how much time had passed, it had been impossible to tell ever since waking up on the table many floors below her. But time did not seem to matter in this place. Next to her, she saw Iggy sound asleep under the covers, no longer talking to the spirits she had seen earlier. Her conscious mind suddenly realized the meaning of what she had just experienced. It broke many of the scientific laws that she followed, based upon the material observation of nature. But she realized that the five senses could not observe everything there was to know about nature, and neither were they designed to directly observe the spiritual. Instead, subtle methods needed to be employed that, with enough discipline, could be used to great effect as Iggy seemingly demonstrated. She had kept herself restricted from the unknown due her own beliefs. Why?

“Sorry.” Iggy opened his eyes and stared upward. “I needed to show you how this world really works. It is beyond your five senses. Just because we cannot sense it doesn't mean it does not exist.” Penny said nothing, so Iggy continued. “Everyone had questions about the spell I used against the UmNaru, how it dispelled all of the demons and spells that controlled them. They're a bit disoriented and tomorrow I start the long process of awakening their potential.”

“Did that have to do with the storm here earlier?” Penny asked.

Iggy looked surprised. “You really missed all of it, didn't you?”

“I seem to have missed out on a lot of things.”

“Long story short, there was a conspiracy ruling the Koopa Kingdom.”

“This goes beyond the Galaxy?”

“This goes beyond the Galaxy.” he said. “Bowser was a puppet of the UmNaru, the sons of Naru, a race of gods who enslaved my race ages ago. I sense they must have told him to build the Galaxy after my brother found the Destroyer. They wanted to world to remain in their control and the Galaxy made that happen, while blackmailing those who knew the truth. Then the three wands became known to us, wands that have the power to make us kings, of the blood, of the earth and of the spirit, last one being me. Designed to guide our race, the UmNaru were forced into the open and we fought them, to their demise. I killed them all. Just like I wanted...”

“Do you think that was the best thing to do?” asked Penny. “You said that people were controlled by spells from spirits, right?”

“I had no choice.” Iggy claimed. “During that moment, they wanted me vanquished from all sides, using every possibility. The only way was to use the ultimate solution. The fallout from the event is already happening. You already saw some of it.”

“People are scared about things they don't know, Iggy.” said Penny. “Of course they will be coming to you for help. You completely changed their way of life. You need to show them what living from the heart means.”

“I do not fear that.” said Iggy. 

“What do you fear?” she asked. 

Iggy sighed nervously. After what Penny had been through, it was a good question. “Being vulnerable, especially to those close to me.”

Penny rubbed her hand on Iggy's chest. “Like this?”

Iggy laughed nervously. “You could say that.”

“Perhaps we're two polarities circling each other.” suggested Penny. “We fear the other because we're opposites that can hurt each other, and yet the same in many ways. We both like science, but work on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Opposites always battle for their way, but--”

“You're right.” interrupted Iggy. “It's all about balance. That's the purpose of this dimension, the balance of duality.” But he fell silent, and stared at the ceiling. 

“You're not telling me something.” said Penny.

“I have a fear of intimacy.” Iggy quickly stated, sighing again. “Getting along with people and having this emotional transfer thing is hard. I don't like being vulnerable.”

Turning over, Penny lay herself across Iggy's chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

Iggy had no words for that. Trying to relax, he reciprocated and wrapped his arm around her back. Neither said nothing for a while, enjoying a moment of stillness after all that has happened to them recently. 

“Let's talk about this in the morning.” Iggy murmured. “I'm going to pass out...” Penny hummed in response, resting her head on his chest. For once, they could both sleep in peace.

* * *

The starry night had grown cloudy as he approached the Mushroom Mountains, with their tops shrouded by dark clouds and colored lightnings. Distant thunder rolled down into the valley, forcing Luigi to inhale and reconsider his current path. It was the only way to cross the Koopa Channel undetected: to climb the snowy border between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Kong Valley. Luigi, now growing more than a five o clock shadow and holstering a bloody hammer on his belt along with a variety of items, felt it more than a coincidence that he was brought back near the crash site, where his nightmares all began. But a storm was not brewing then, and it now appeared before Luigi like a snowy god awakened, blowing his judgment across the range to warn those who dared approach him. 

“Mama mia.” he muttered, trying to figure out a way across the range. He was forced to walk most of the distance above ground due to many of the warp pipes becoming broken or dislocated due to many of the earthquakes that had begun recently. This may have been a good thing in disguise, as food was far tastier on the surface than it was in the sewers. Still, Luigi knew that he could half his time by traveling underground, and he wondered if there were any unbroken pipe networks that crossed the mountains.

Looking across the hilly plain before him, he saw several pipes sticking out, already knowing that most of the pipe ways were broken due to the land fault he had experienced earlier while underground. However, a curious pipe on one of the lower slopes of the range caught his eye and Luigi headed toward it, noting the temperature beginning to cool down around him as he climbed. Reaching it, he climbed on top and warped down to the underground.

Coming out of the pipe, Luigi landed on the ground and saw that it was a natural cavern lit with torches, marching in one direction. Luigi jumped under a ? block and grabbed a fire flower, thankful that he could find one. The cavern marched upwards with many pits and blocks, until it turned steeply upward which relieved Luigi as he knew he was climbing the mountain.

He reached the top of a cliff, jumping off a row of ? Blocks. In front of him was a strange site. The path here flattened out and a single green warp pipe jutted out from the right wall, but was boarded up with wooden planks and a skull painted in red in the center. There was no other exit. 

“Huh?” Luigi was confused, as the area was not volcanic and did not contain any lava flows to his knowledge, a common disrupter of pipe networks. Even then, the pipe would have been properly blocked off with a metallic sealant, and not boarded across with wood. In fact, the construction of the pipe block seemed to have been done in haste, with no real pattern apparent among the boards, save for the large X that crisscrossed the opening. 

Luigi walked to the left wall and sat down next to it in thought. It was not a proper pipe block, nor was it the method used by himself or his brother Mario. Perhaps it was something that the Mushroomers would conjure up themselves, but the haste in its construction said otherwise, as well as the painted skull: the Mushroom people never painted such things. The idea of a boss lying behind the pipe did not not escape Luigi and he knew it to be very possible. But again, if such a creature existed, it would have been well known by the mushroom folk as he was still within the Mushroom Kingdom.

Still, the construction was suspicious. Luigi got up and sighed, annoyed that the great progress that he had been making was halted. Staring at the back wall, Luigi noticed something peculiar in the rock pattern. Walking up to it, he touched it and was surprised when his hand went straight through the wall!

Luigi nodded, starting to put the puzzle together. He walked through the hidden wall and was immediately faced with a light blue pipe sticking out of the ground inside a small alcove in the real wall. He knew immediately that he was facing old pipework, at least 20 years old. The light blue color had been phased out of use following the 1988 invasion, due to an incident when a vast number of Mushroom people were killed as they hid inside such a pipe by Bowser's armies. Luigi knew that something was wrong and hoped he wouldn't come across that same pipe.

Jumping into the pipe, he warped into a large unlit room. His eyes adjusting to the darkness, he saw the outline of a circuit box upon a wall nearby. Opening it, he hit the main switch and the power turned on instantly, revealing his surroundings. It was a constructed room built with gray blocks, a standard material used during that same time period. Light blue pipes filled the whole room, twisting this way and that. An office was hollowed out of the concrete but little was left inside, although a single letter covered in dust was seen upon the rustic desk. Picking it up, Luigi scanned it quickly:

“General, our troops are marching through the quadrant now. Silence the rest of them, and we'll go unnoticed. We will take her by night. March forward!” -B. 10/23

October 23, 1988, the day of the invasion. Back then, the kingdom was thought to be impenetrable after Bowser's first invasion of '85. How Bowser had sneaked past the border guard was unknown, but it appeared that he finally had the answer: a secret base located under the mushroom range.

Luigi shook his head. “Move on, Luigi.” Putting the paper back on the table he walked out and examined the pipes that criss-crossed the room, trying to determine which one would lead him over the mountain. Tracing the pathways of the pipes, he discovered one heading in the direction he needed to head towards. Climbing a set of metal stairs, Luigi briskly walked across the mezzanine and several pipe openings before finding the one that he needed. Inhaling, he jumped in and was immediately warped upwards.

A hollow sound grew in intensity and snowflakes blew past his face; with luck, he had found an opening to the outside. Moments later he emerged from the pipe and was immediately blasted with wind and snow that was so strong that it knocked him from the top of the pipe to the ground below it. He had emerged in the middle of a raging blizzard.

Luigi slowly got up, half covered in snow and quickly realizing that he was going have to find shelter soon. The wind chill bit his face and shivers ran down his spine. Without a coat he was not going to last very long. He trudged through the snow, guessing that 5 or 6 inches had already fallen. His visibility was reduced and he tried to make out what was in front of him. To his left see saw the outlines of a building, but as he came closer saw the door had caved in and snow drifts had piled inside of the now derelict structure. A poster next to the door remained hanging, and seeing what remained of the fading ink made Luigi huff to himself in memory. It was a motivational poster depicting a much younger Lemmy Koopa, back when he still rode his ball. It convinced Luigi that this was indeed a secret base stemming back to the '88 War, and from the looks of it belonged to Lemmy. Hardly surprising, given the climate.

Turning away, Luigi passed the abandoned shelter and looked about him. The peak still jutted above him and he guessed he was somewhere halfway up one of the lesser peaks. To his west, the thunder was more intense and the many colored lightnings more brilliant. It was all suspicious, not only the rarity of thunder snow as he called it back in Brooklyn, but the fact that the lightning had different colors other than white. Evidently, it was possible but he didn't have the time to think more about it. He needed to keep moving forward.

Crossing what appeared to be a long flat surface carved out of the mountain shrouded by snow, Luigi began to see the outline of something long and thin that rested along the edge of the mountain. Was it a train? As he came closer, he realized that what he saw was accurate. It was a long black train set upon hidden rails under the snow, but the train seemed to be in better shape than the rest of the area. Certainly, its sleek design mirrored the modern more than it did the 1980's and certainly, a train from that time period would have shown some weathered wear over the years. The rail went in one direction to the right, into a tunnel under the mountain. 

Luigi climbed the head locomotive and walked along the rail of the train, looking for an entrance. Judging from the cars behind it, It seemed to be a combination of a passenger train with storage for military goods. Seeing a doorway at the bulkhead, he walked faster but stopped when something caught his eye on the side of the train. It was a logo, painted in dark blue and resembled what appeared to be a wig.

“Ludwig.” Luigi muttered. He assumed that this was how the Koopaling left the Mushroom Kingdom, and if it was indeed true, there must have been a good reason for covering his tracks. It reminded him of that incident a few days ago when he saw that battle in the skies, lights criss-crossing from northeast to southwest. In any case, it seemed Luigi was now following Ludwig's trail, which was actually good news. If it led to the Koopa Kingdom and he didn't see why it wouldn't, then much of his work was already cut out for him. The next problem was crossing that forsaken land undetected, but that was for another day.

Luigi pushed the door open and entered the cockpit. Indeed, the controls were modernized and most things seemed to be more digitalized and modern, with a plush leather seat for the conductor. Next to it was a flashlight and Luigi grabbed it to have a better look at the controls. Everything seemed to be shut off except for a panel on the back wall. There, a reading was shown on a panel: “Offline.” 

The reality of the situation then began to sink into him: he was going to have to start the train and drive it all by himself. While he did have some knowledge of trains from his childhood obsession of them, he never imagined himself as a conductor. “Think Luigi.” he told himself, trying to regain his confidence. Reading the panels, he knew he could do this as long as he took it one step at a time.

Luigi turned the engine control knob to start. The panel display changed to “Engine Not Running.” He turned the fuel pump switch to on, but nothing happened. Apparently, the pump did not work automatically and he would have to manually pump the fuel himself. That meant going back outside.

Turning around, Luigi looked around him and saw a jacket on a chair on the other side of the cabin. It was too big for him, but it was better than nothing. Putting it on, he stepped outside the cabin and back onto the walkway from where he came. Looking, he spotted panels with handles, and seeing one labeled “Engine” naturally opened it up. On the side was a 2 directional switch, one for priming and one for engine start. Understanding now, Luigi moved the switch to the primer position, filling the engine with diesel fuel. A loud hum was heard and next to him he saw a sight glass fill with fuel. Once reaching the top, he turned the switch the other way and slowly the engine began to roar to life, sending plumes of smoke into the air. Too impatient to get back inside, he closed the panel and quickly made his way back inside the cabin, closing the door behind him. Back at the panel, he switched on the cabin heat immediately, and turned on most of the switches including brakes and module control. Warm air gushed into the cabin, relieving Luigi and made him glad that he had a warm place to stay for a while.

Taking off the jacket, he placed it back on the seat across the cabin before switching the engine control knob to run. The panel display read “Engine Ready” and Luigi knew he was ready to go. Sitting in the conductor's chair, he glanced at the switches in front of him and turned on the engine run switch. Immediately, the digital panel lit to life with speed gauges, temperature readings and status of the engine. Several monitors started a boot sequence, which led to the loading of a UI interface showing the status of the train as well as communication to the train network of the Koopa Kingdom. Unfortunately, it seemed to be offline. Another screen went through an automatic sequence of engine start, and Luigi realized he did not have to do it the hard way. Still, he smiled. He always wanted to know what made a locomotive tick. 

Luigi pushed the throttle. The engine roared and slowly the train began to move forward. Eventually, the train accelerated into the tunnel and all went dark. He turned on the lights to the cabin and set the throttle to 2200 HP. According to the display, he would reach the other side of the mountain range within 15 minutes at that power. 

Wanting to explore the rest of the train, Luigi got up and headed back into the passenger car. It was very modern and was a staple of Ludwig's style, at least as he remembered it while on board the Galaxy. It was empty and all the seats and tables were spotless, save for one nearest to the cabin. It held a pancake shaped device and Luigi recognized it for what it was. Taking it, he pressed a button and a hologram appeared above it, that of Ludwig's face.

“General, lead the push from sector 26B into the lowlands of the shore. From there, the strategy will incorporate and we shall dispense ourselves into our appropriate locations. Junior must not learn of our invasion attempt, nor must the supporters that back him. I thank you for your service.”

The hologram disappeared. It seemed Ludwig went through a power struggle with Bowser Junior, something Luigi long wondered about. It certainly explained his secretive departure through the mountains, a difficult feat to achieve as well as the heavenly battle as well. But he couldn't help but notice the coincidence of discovering a secret base from Bowser's 88 War holding a letter for Peach's capture, then discovering a train constructed by Ludwig holding information concerning the takeover of the Kingdom. Ludwig becoming the next King of the Koopas would probably be slightly better than giving Junior the reigns, but that was all politics. In the end, he was traveling to Sarasaland to meet Daisy and that's all that mattered.

After some time, he felt the brakes being applied and promptly headed back to the cabin. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, which was otherwise filled with blowing snow drifts. The train emerged out into the open into an area similar to where he had started. The tracks ended at a wall and there was another flat surface carved out of the mountain. This time, the snow storm was gone and Luigi could see an ocean at the bottom of the range: The Koopa Channel. The train indeed went through the mountain like he had hoped. Coming to a full stop, Luigi saw a building nearby that did not look so derelict as the one he had seen before. Walking to the panel, he pushed the engine stop button and turned off many of the engine's core components. The engine slowly died and there was nothing else to hear but the wind howling outside. The heaters also ceased functioning, which motivated Luigi to find a place to sleep for what was left of the night. 

Back in darkness, Luigi took the flashlight with him and exited the cabin to the outside. The skies were clear with the stars shining brightly, but the moon was off again, hanging too far to the east this late in the evening. It was something Luigi had noted for the last couple of days, but that's not what bothered him that moment. Jumping off the locomotive, he noticed that Koopa City, which lay across the water in the distance was almost entirely dark. He could see outlines of ruined buildings and realized that the lights he had seen in the sky nights before were actually a destructive force from some type of weapon. Something terrible happened to the kingdom, and Luigi did not know exactly what it meant for him. He decided to wait until morning when he could think clearer. 

He walked towards the building he had seen earlier. The door was still attached and it easily opened inwards. It was a small room with a desk on the right side of the door, yet the rest of it was empty save for a circuit box in the back corner. Closing the door, Luigi walked to the box and hit the main switch. Lights lit up in the room and cold air poured out of the ventilation shafts, a sign that the furnace was still warming up. Luigi took a look at the desk and found a button above one of the drawers. It was typical for them to hide in plain sight, so he thought.

Pressing it, a part of the floor in the back moved downward, revealing a staircase. He walked down it and realized he was in some sort of military barracks, with army coats hung up on a rack and bunkers lined up in several rooms. He had been very lucky so far and felt that this was an excellent place to stay for the night. However, he still needed to cover his trail.

He walked back upstairs and turned off the lights before heading back down the stairs again. A button underneath the stairway raised the stairs back to the ceiling, concealing his presence. Taking one of the green jackets that hung on a rack, he tried one on and while it was slightly too big, it would do fine for now. Walking to one of the bunker rooms, he shut the door and promptly took off his plumbers belt before throwing himself onto one of the bunk beds. It had been a long day for him, and for once he did not seem to mind sleeping through the morning. Who knew whether he would find a place like this again?


	31. Nexus: The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a short lesson on how to kill and eat wildlife, the Three Kings unlock the next phase of the awakening and go into a heated discussion about nearly everything before they make their dreaded announcement to the Koopa Kingdom.

At dawn, the sun appeared over the horizon, giving light to the unusual frost that had spread across the Koopa Kingdom that evening. The voices that echoed out of the ruin seemed, to Roy at least echoes of discord. The castle barely provided enough warmth during the night, and only because of the perpetual lava flows that lay underneath. Many had not been able to sleep at all, too frightened from the previous day and talked amongst themselves of their future. Even now, Roy heard feet sliding upon the floor above him and the dull hum of voices, the volunteers that served the king of nothing. At least that's what Roy thought of him. Granted, he wouldn't have been in any better position than he if things had gone otherwise, but he didn't deserve it in any case. He had to make up for his mistakes. He was the one who started the civil war and triggered everything. In Roy's eyes, he had to fix what he started.

“We have to stay alive.” he muttered to himself. He was going to help them do that.

* * *

A knife flew across the room, landing deep inside the skull of a hapless Goomba tied up to a plank of wood. A few moments of squealing and the creature died, blood pouring out from its wound. Satisfied, Roy walked over to his target and dislodged his throwing knife from the Goomba's head, blood squirting out of the wound in response. On the other side of the room were the Koopalings, looking on as if watching a spectacle.

“Aim for the skull.” he said. “Between here and here.” He pointed with his finger the desirable targets, above the Goomba's eyes and in the center of the head. “You hit his eye and he'll live. No good. Have to aim for the brain. You stomp 'em, they no good for cooking. Go for the brain.” Wiping the knife with a cloth, he then cut the bonds of the now dead Goomba and brought the corpse to the table. 

“Want a cleaver for dis part.” Roy mentioned. “But can use dis just fine.” He placed the knife's edge on the top of the Goomba's head, but at an acute angle. Slowly, he dug into its skin and moved downwards. Like a piece of deli meat, the Goomba's skin was easily peeled back, all the way down to the feet. What remained was the muscular structure, with it's eyeballs seemingly staring at the group in front of it.

“This is the normal way of doing this?” asked Lemmy.

“You betcha.” answered Roy. “Though some people just go for the feet, or their dicks. Me?” He took out one eyeball and held it in the palm of his hand, before suddenly clenching his fist. Many of the Koopalings gave looks of disgust, but that only helped to fuel Roy's laughter. 

“That's not funny.” said King Ludwig. “Such vestibules are known to be edible.”

“Heh, not a fan myself.” said Roy. “But whatever floats yer boat.” He tossed the corpse into a grinder, turning the creature into mush meat. “And den you have Goomburgers.”

“You need a powered grinder for that.” Iggy pointed out. 

“Ya, but remember. I'm lazy.” Leaving the Goomburger patties aside, he walked up to his next target: a Koopa Troopa in shackles, tied to another wooden post. Wasting no time, Roy took his knife and slit its throat, blood gushing from the neck onto the stone floor. Taking him from the wooden post, he laid him down upon the table and forcefully pulled the corpse from its shell.

“I hope these are prisoners, Roy.” warned Lemmy.

“Ya, this one's a robber.” said Roy. Pulling down the poor sap's boxers, Roy took a cleaver and chopped off his love muscle with one swoop. Nearly all of the Koopalings winced at that, except for Ludwig who had seen it before, done as punishment for harsh crimes. Still, it was a nasty business.

“I am pleased my wife is not currently present.” Ludwig remarked.

“But why would you do that?” asked a shaken Morton.

“Heh. It's a delicacy. You never had roasted Koopa dick?” He held the bloody phallus up in the air. “You stuff it with sauces.”

“Do I want to know what kind?” Morton asked.

“I already know what kind.” said Iggy.

“Don't spoil it!” quipped Roy. “Fine, I'll keep it a secret.”

“So you will have knives, a sharpener and a pack to carry it all in,” stated Iggy. “What about vegetarians?”

“What about them?” asked Roy.

“This is good for meat eaters, but not plant eaters.” There was silence, and Iggy turned to Larry. “I know you specialize in gardening.”

Larry looked up with a depressed look. “I know, I'll teach them. I just had a bad night. It needs to be a part of the survival guide. I know.” 

Iggy sensed more than a emotional problem with Larry. It was more than just his exchange with Mona. It brought up an issue long unresolved, spiritual in nature and not fit for the current conversation.

“Want me to set that up now, or do it later?” asked Larry. 

“Let's do it later.” said Iggy. “We already have a lot on our hands this morning.”

“Indeed.” said Ludwig. “My Queen should be concluding her initiation shortly, and presumably we shall be off to Erzembar afterwards.”

Just after Ludwig finished speaking, Iggy saw a flash in his mind. He turned and looked south through what remained of one of the balconies. Across the ocean far away, he saw a storm of many colors brewing upon the northern mushroom range. Iggy held out his hand, and successfully manipulated the colors into a vortex before defusing it just as fast.

“But nothing else happens.” Iggy murmured.

Ludwig hummed to himself. Suddenly, the view of the kingdom rushed past them, zooming in upon the northern slopes of the mushroom range, with the storm thundering above them.

“Uh...what happened?” asked Morton in a stupor.

“Reality is incredibly subjective.” mused Ludwig.

“Then what do you make of this?” asked Iggy. “I cannot pierce the veil.”

“Neither can I.” Ludwig admitted. “However, the cause must be explicitly linked to the Queen, despite her lack of knowledge within the magical disciplines.”

As the two deliberated, the other Koopalings sat in silence, either dazed as to what just happened or absorbed in their own plans. Larry especially struggled with himself after what happened the previous night. It brought out a part in him he had long kept buried. Was it a fear of judgment? He never liked to fess up to authority. He had grown up with the mentality of concealing ones motives from others, for the intention of self profit or helping others profit around him. Recently, with the pole shift looming he had leaned on towards helping others, as he understood that one cannot survive alone and needs the other to survive. But with the increased telepathy that was gained from becoming the Blood King along with his brothers, he was beginning to realize that he could not hide like he used to, especially if two of his other brothers could see what he was thinking. They seemed distracted now, but that didn't matter. If he didn't take care of this, then he was going to lose it.

So what was the point in hiding, then? 

“Because you are selfish.” he heard. Blunt and to the point, it was probably Iggy. Yes it was, though he still talked with Ludwig on the balcony. A chill flew through the room, a just note for such sour taste. Mona came back to mind, and he realized that she wasn't just speaking for her own selfish reasons. She was in part speaking for the group he had formed, and neglected in part due to his family's troubles. But in reality, he feared others judging his selfishness, of keeping a survival site that...wasn't just for him. He had learned to stop betraying others, at least intentionally. However, he never got over his childhood, from being betrayed by those close to him. He feared being betrayed still. 

But why would anyone betray him here?

There was a light from across the room, and in seeming response a light shone from Ludwig's shell.

“Hm?” Ludwig took the glowing wand from his shell. It flashed briefly and Ludwig noticed that about half of the archaic writing on the wand had disappeared. Before he could do anything else, there was a lightning bolt followed by a crash of thunder on the other side of the room. In its place was a tall Koopa comparable to the kings, with curved horns and a green hat lying in between. First spotting Larry, she smiled at him and he nodded in response, deep in thought. 

“Hi hun.” said Queen Kylie. “I'm all grown up now. They even gave me a wand to play with.” A pale green light glowed from it, and she pointed the wand at Ludwig, who in a flash was transported into her arms. “Neat, isn't it?”

Iggy rolled his eyes and looked away, but Lemmy laughed. “Looks like she's keeping you whether you like it or not!”

“It was an inevitable conclusion.” Ludwig reasoned, before being smacking on the lips by Kylie.

“Well, you guys are busy, so I'll do it.” said Lemmy. Iggy watched with a curious expression as the smaller Koopaling walked over to the Earth Sphere. Something inside's Lemmy's shell lit up and so did the sphere momentarily before the face of a machine appeared.

“Ah. You must be the Nexus.” said Erzembar.

“Huh?” Lemmy was already confused.

“Another surprise up your sleeve, Erzembar?” asked Iggy. 

“Yes.” said Erzembar. “If ready, I shall transport the kings, queen and nexus to the next stage of awakening.” Everyone looked at each other.

“This is like some elite club.” complained Morton. “When do I get to join?”

“Your role is more vital than you know.” said Erzembar. “Some of the greatest leaders throughout history never carried titles.”

“Everyone's got a place.” said Roy. “I get it.”

“Then, let us begin.” The five then disappeared, leaving Morton and Roy behind. The mountain range zoomed away, and the proper view of the kingdom returned.

“We gotta get this shit started, bro.” said Morton, getting up, “They're gonna be yelling at each other in a few hours.”

Roy walked towards the hall. “I'm seeing Wendy first.”

* * *

They reappeared upon a flat and snowy mountain, in the middle of the storm they had seen earlier. Above them rose the highest peak, surrounded by a multitude of shifting colors. Ahead of them, the slope rose up to a round door under the cliffs of the mountain. Strangely, they did not feel cold.

“Look.” Iggy pointed to his feet, where a large stone circle was seen under under the blowing snow drifts. It was surrounded by six circles on the diameter with a pathway from each leading to the center of the bigger circle. Four of the circles were lit: one yellow, one dark blue, one fuchsia, and one orange. Each of the circles were equally distant from each other, save for the dark blue and fuchsia circles which were next to each other.

“Magic signatures.” explained Ludwig. “My theory is correct. There are six of us.”

“Then who or what is at the center?” asked Iggy. “Lemmy?”

“Yes.” verified Erzembar, speaking through the Wand of the Spirit. “Lemmy, I shall explain your role once Heaven's Seat is reopened.”

“Heaven's Seat? But it's not really heaven heaven, is it?” questioned Kylie.

“Not in the idealistic sense of the word.” said Erzembar. “You shall see. A part of the scheme has already been understood by yourselves.”

Curious, Lemmy walked up to the large circular door. In the center of it was a green gemstone placed way above his head with the imprint of a hand much larger than his. Using the Wand of Koopa, Lemmy levitated off the ground and traveled up to the gemstone. 

“It reminds me of Naru.” Iggy thought, looking towards Lemmy's direction.

“Naru?” Kylie thought in response. That's right, she was a Queen now.

“The home world of the Koopa's.” Iggy thought. “The pyramid where I found the Wand of the Spirit had an entrance almost exactly like the one in front of us now.”

Lemmy placed his hand on the gemstone. Nothing seemed to happen. Ludwig studied the stone circle below him. The yellow circle, presumably representing Iggy's magic signature, was now connected to the center by a yellow line that had lit up. The dark blue circle did likewise, as did the fuchsia circle. The orange circle however, had no such line.

Lemmy glanced at Larry, who still looked downcast. “What's wrong, Larry?”

Larry looked at his older brother ahead of him. “How can you trust someone as suspicious as me?” he thought.

“You were chosen by Kamek for a reason.” stated Ludwig.

“Kamek is dead.” said Larry.

“Then you must find the reason yourself.”

Iggy wanted to think of something, but knew better.

“Listen, trust yourself.” thought Kylie, quickly catching on. “Others will trust you if you trust yourself.”

“It's hard to trust yourself after knowing what you've done in the past.” thought Larry.

“That was the old world.” Iggy thought. “This is the new. You're one of the heads. Remake yourself.”

Lemmy was puzzled. He got no response from Larry, and everyone was looking at each other without saying a word. He remembered hearing Iggy in his mind during the battle with the UmNaru. Was this telepathy again? He decided to try. 

“Hey guys!” he thought. “You know I can't hear you!”

They turned back around and looked at him. “Sorry Lemmy.” said Iggy. “We're trying to fix the problem with Larry.”

“Then let me help!” pleaded Lemmy.

“Very well.” said Ludwig.

“He doesn't trust himself.” Iggy bluntly said.

“That's easy. You can't love others if you can't love yourself!” stated Lemmy.

Larry sighed.

“It's all about the moment, dude!” explained Lemmy. “The past is gone, always will be. But you can change the future with this moment. Don't let the past become your future, man.”

“You're right.” said Larry. “I'll try.” He closed his eyes and nodded to himself. The others waited many moments, until an orange line was seen slowly crawling across the stone. When it reached the center, there was a white light that lit up and pulsated in the middle. Taking that as the signal, Lemmy again placed his hand upon the mold. The circular door split in half, rolling in either direction until a thud was heard. A warm orange light shined down from a narrow stair that led upwards.

“The Nexus leads the kings and queens through the passage.” stated Erzembar. With Lemmy first the Koopalings walked behind him with Larry in the rear, trying to hold on to his new found spirit.

The stair turned left, marching upwards. The orange light grew more intense and it wasnt before long that the left wall gave way to a beautiful landscape, a lush jungle shrouded in a humid haze and illuminated in an orange sunset.

“What's this? A jungle under the mountain?” mused Larry.

“The primordial Koopa Kingdom, as Koopa himself saw it.” answered Erzembar. 

“How the hell is that even possible?” growled Larry, more skeptical now. They had rooted him out, so they may as well see all of his ugliness.

“This is a time suspension.” explained Erzembar. “Created as an eternal state to his offspring, that they should see the world as he once saw it. This is the world that Koopa first saw when he landed here from Naru and created his foundation for the future. This future will be realized soon.”

“There's a future to this race?” muttered Larry and he got a few stares for that one, especially from Ludwig.

“There are elements of Koopa's original intent that remain unresolved.” Erzembar said carefully. “This is due to the imbalance of materiality largely caused by the UmNaru. This resistance is cured by realigning all energy back to its natural parameters by the trinities.”

“And what happens then?” asked Larry. 

“It is best not to explain at this point.” said Erzembar. “You are approaching Heaven's Seat and will be given further instruction.” Then there was silence, save for their footsteps that climbed the stair that went ever higher.

Larry huffed. The more power he was being given, the more suspicious he became and the more he was forced to become someone else. It was not something uncalled for, given his predisposition to money and anything valuable in general. Over the years his sense of wealth had grown to information, something he became highly skilled in obtaining. But the changes now taking place were more than just the overthrow of a dark group that controlled the family for centuries. There were internal struggles, and the polarization of opinions like he had seen in Wendy's insane tantrums during the previous day in the castle dungeon. Even during the battle there were clearly two sides and fewer were now sitting on the fence of apathy. Something was polarizing, something was forcing him to move in a direction, but he did not know what. He decided to remain silent and study the other's reactions. Judging from what he has seen so far, most have not taken conscious note of this change.

After passing a countless number of ancient relics that even Iggy decided not to bother to decipher, they reached the top of the “mountain” that they had previously entered, except the summit was snow free and hollowed out like a cone, with the tip above a construction of unknown origin. A large quartz crystal floated inside of this tip, rotating clockwise. In all directions they could see the world as it once was, unhampered by the inter-specie wars during the gold rush of the past. The orange sun was to the west just over the horizon, beaming across the summit. Around the circle were three pairs of two seats, all equilateral from each other and facing the center, which was depressed into the earth forming a smaller circle accessed by steps on four sides. 

“Please be seated.” said Erzembar.

* * *

Morton had no idea what was going on. He just knew that there was a swirling column of several lights in the distance that stretched upwards into space. He heard commotion increase outside of the castle and snapped out of his trance.

“Hey Roy, we gotta get on this shit!” he called out to his older brother, pointing to the light. Roy looked up from his latest kill and raised his brows. “Wow.”

“I'm getting the comm system set up.” said Morton, already running down the hallway. Roy looked at the sight for a few moments, and quietly nodded to himself. He was on the right path. 

After climbing a few sets of stairs, Roy reached the top level of the castle and walked out into the open air where he was met with a ruckus. A large crowd was gathering with shouts and noise, with more incoming after being awakened to such a sight. They did not seem angry, but more disorderly with people doing many things at once. 

Behind him, pairs of Troopa's emerged from the steps carrying large speakers, wiring and other equipment from the depths. They quickly got to work setting up the audio system and it wasn't before long that they were spotted for what they were. Following an uproar, Roy was forced to walk to the edge and hold up his hands. “I will speak soon!” he shouted, with a few able to hear him. Many supporters of Roy shouted at him then, asking if he was the next king or not. Eventually a microphone was brought over and attached to him, along with a wireless transmitter. It was turned on immediately, and Roy had to think what to say quickly.

“Yo guys, listen!” Roy began, and the crowd quieted somewhat. “You're pissed off, I know. My glasses got fried, my face melted. This stuff happens in war. But you know what? That war's over now. It all happens for a reason. But anyway, we're making an announcement soon. Keep tight.”

People began to shout questions almost immediately after Roy stopped speaking. Before he walked away, he decided to say one more thing.

“There's this question and answer thing were doing afterwards, so if he doesn't answer what you're looking for, ask him. Thanks for waiting.”

The voices inevitably rose up before Roy stepped away to find Morton looking at the crowds ahead of him. “I hope they don't take long.” he remarked, knowing full well of how impatient people can be.

* * *

“This is Heaven's Seat.” said Erzembar. “Here, the kings and queens of our race gather to deliberate in a formalized setting. The balance of powers between the body, the mind and the spirit are discussed, along with issues pertaining to the race as a whole. Before we continue, I must make clear the correct distribution of power between the polarities.

“When a single sex takes up a wand of the trinity, they assume all of its power and must balance both polarities by themselves. This is naturally more difficult than the original intent of the wands: to separate the polarities of the wand between both sexes equally. Refusal of such natural distribution is caused by selfishness, and is often a spiritual orientation decision.” 

“So it was intended to split the wand into two, which is what happened when Kylie became Queen.” said Larry, sitting down in his assigned seat for the Blood King.

“Precisely.” said Erzembar. “The Wand of the Earth is not as its weakest state when divided between king and queen, but is rather at its strongest. For in the past, when the UmNaru began their machinations, they manipulated this perspective into what has been passed down by your forefathers today: a single entity wielding absolute power. This is not true, as it takes the full expression of duality to express ultimate power within this dimension. The ability to care for the other is the first step to ultimate potential.”

“So, there are six monarchs.” stated Ludwig.

“Yes. The power of the Earth may now reach its full potential once both sexes understand and are able to wield it.”

Ludwig was silent, lost in himself. Kylie smiled at him.

“You never grew up with this, did you?” she asked.

“I did not.” quietly said Ludwig. “I rely upon prior experience to make decisions, but this moment is unprecedented in comparison. Upon recollection, rumor came to my ears in my youth concerning the queen mother, but the investigation was halted. Perhaps this is related to...” He fell silent again.

“To what?”

But Ludwig looked down and sighed. Kylie saw it then, as did her in laws. “Oh my gosh, I'm sorry...”

“What? What is it?” Lemmy asked, left in the dark. Kylie hugged Ludwig and they embraced in silence. 

“That sucks.” muttered Larry, rubbing his eyes.

“What does?” asked Lemmy, feeling sadness around the room.

Iggy slowly walked towards his seat. “Queen mom was murdered...for trying to split dad's wand.” He sat down and shook his head. “That's tragic. It would have saved him too.”

Lemmy frowned and looked at the floor. Things changed in a heartbeat, didn't they? There was silence for a while until Larry opened his eyes again. “This must be undone. You know what to do, Ludwig.”

“Believe that the father I have known....” Ludwig muttered to himself, but he stopped and shook his head. “I should have seen this earlier. I should have heard it in his last words, in the tone, in the pronunciation. But given the circumstances, I simply never had the opportunity to shift my perception. Perhaps it was meant to be, given the events that have transpired.” He inhaled and nodded. “Yes, we must avenge our mother. I shall begin.” And he kissed his queen, with much fanfare from everyone around them, and Lemmy gave them a golf clap as congratulations. 

“A heartwarming moment, more so if I still retained my physical vessel.” commented Erzembar. “Now the kings of the Blood and Spirit must follow likewise to complete the Second Trinity. Then all powers will be balanced, and as long as the incarnate spirit does not lean towards selfishness, all will be right with the world.”

Larry and Iggy exchanged glances at each other before staring forward in thought. His problem just grew exponentially; Larry was going to have to find a queen to complete his part of the Trinity. Reminiscing over his night with Mona, he realized that his solutions came by helping others, not by obsessing over his own skin. His focus needed to be more outward in order to find the solution within himself. 

Iggy however had a bigger dilemma.

“So, I need a queen.” Iggy thought bluntly. Across the Koopahari desert, Penny Crygor blinked, then blushed. “I already have a king.” she thought. “Why do you need a queen when you already have one?”

Iggy smiled to himself. “Well, I have one in name, but she's not a Koopa.”

“Oh, so that's what this is about.” thought Penny. “Why can't I just be your modern day Princess Peach?”

“Because we need three queens to form the Second Trinity.” thought Iggy.

“I'll ask Erzembar.” She turned around from her latest project and looked towards the massive computer behind her. “Well, can I become a Koopa queen and still remain human? Probably not, right?”

“No.” replied Erzembar. “However, there are theoretical shortcuts that can be taken. Infusing human DNA with enough Koopa genetics may make you eligible for the initiation, as no other creatures are allowed to undertake such a ceremony. However, the problem is the end result. You would transform into a Koopa queen holding the genetics of Koopa himself unless a solution is discovered. As explained to Iggy, this is an area I lack experience in, Humans were a relatively rare species in the past.”

“This sounds tricky.” thought Iggy. “I will have to experiment when I get a chance.”

“As long as you don't mess with my ovarian system, I will probably try whatever you come up with.”

“Actually, that's a neat idea.” Iggy wondered if that was possible.

“Iggy, no.”

“Darn it. Okay, let's talk about this later. I have to go settle another argument.”

“Another one?”

“Yup. Ludwig is being stubborn.”

“I heard that.” said Ludwig with a raised voice. “And if your fortification took 16 years to construct, you would be the same.”

“I highly recommend you do not announce your shelter publicly.” said Erzembar. “Otherwise, its compromise would increase in plausibility, and your refusal to admit other citizens would indicate favoritism, a key factor to unrest.”

“Plus if those mountains shift,” Larry began, “They're not supposed to, but...”

“Understood.” Ludwig angrily muttered under his breath. “The castle shall be set forth from the crags before the shift is to take place. If armed insurgents dare try to take my palace, they will be met with prompt death.”

“This plan is more sound.” said Erzembar. “However, preceding earthquakes may jeopardize your position. Proceed with caution.”

“I assure you,” began Ludwig, “That my castle was built specifically for this event and can withstand what the pole shift may do to harm it, once the castle is afloat. All I have to fear are hostile takeovers, which as you pointed out is entirely possible. However, there are mechanisms in place to prevent this, so this is unlikely.” He thought for a moment. “Given the situation, I tend to agree towards keeping our survival shelters a private affair.”

“The public will probably make their own plans, in spite of what is said by us.” said Larry.

“I have constructed a plan that the citizens will follow to ensure their survival.” mentioned Ludwig.

“Keep in mind it will not work completely.” argued Larry. “They've been waiting for their chance and this is it. If only they knew what's right around the corner.”

“It is the citizen's duty to follow the will of the leader.” said Ludwig, but Larry chuckled. “What is this recent antagonism?” Ludwig asked. 

“Look at these guys.” said Larry, referring to the common person. “Do you really think they have the sanity to not only believe what we're telling them after decades of lies and disinformation, but to start preparing themselves for the end of the world? Look at them! Half of them don't even know what to do with their lives, cutting themselves and throwing themselves into each other's arms before breaking up the next morning. Rinse and repeat, and what truth do you see? These people are lost and broken. They wont trust the power that broke them down.”

“They have the capacity to understand the current situation if explained in a proper manner.” argued Ludwig. “Whether they choose to follow the instructions bequeathed to their mental constructs is entirely their choice.”

“Being forced from birth to worship an ideology is not their choice.” countered Larry. “Being forced to believe what they see on the news, what their friends whisper in their ears is not always something they can control. Maybe in the easier days when television or the Internet wasn't around, when people were actually more grounded and happier and the state didn't lie nearly as much as it does now, then maybe your tactic might work. But the easy days are over. The information age has made a gigantic mental web of lies that everybody is caught in. 

“Look at what my announcement did. The UmNaru moved so quickly that I barely had time to react before I was caught in their entrapment. But looking back on it and looking what's in front of us, I'm starting to get the problem. The battle with the UmNaru is over, and we freed millions of people from their captivity. But they were brought up learning what they wanted them to learn, seeing what they wanted them to see. They never wanted Joe Koopa to wake up and realize his potential. We may have saved them physically but not mentally. Not spiritually or emotionally. The absolute dictatorship of the past supported a one fist rule of one thought, one mind, zero originality. But times have changed. Government was about physical control of people and assets. With the awakening of the three kings, that has completely expanded beyond that. We're talking not so much control, but guidance over every aspect of their lives.”

“Do you really think that's our job?” asked Iggy. “It has been something I have been wondering about since the UmNaru battle. Frankly, many people live inside of their own world. I see them everyday. How can you pull people out of that and expect them to face the truth as it is? They are not emotionally ready.”

“Exactly.” said Larry. “They were never taught to learn about themselves. Because of that, they don't know how to handle the truth. I mean, we could announce the same thing that was done when Lemmy took Bowser's Castle, but I can guarantee you that less than half will prepare for it. Like I said, their minds aren't free. They can't think for themselves.”

“So how do you just free someone's mind from all that shit?” asked Kylie butting in. “Because you know, that's a lot of shit they've been watching their whole lives. They're called zombies for a reason.”

“Are you asking how to turn a zombie back into a Koopa?” asked Lemmy, curious.

“Well, you can't do that in video games.” responded Kylie. “That's my point.”

“We're not playing games anymore.” said Larry. “This is the real deal. You can't just give them the information they need to turn back. They listened to my dad's noise with all their trust, and their trust has been taken from them. Do you think they'll just believe what we say now? They'll say we lie.”

“Repeating that may help strengthen your case.” commented Iggy. “You told them once already. But whatever happens, I think we need to announce this as a team. They have to know that it's not all about a single king ruling everything anymore.” He looked at Ludwig. “Sorry bro, this is probably grating your nerves a bit.”

“A tad.” Ludwig admitted. “It is the culmination of expectations, to be handed the reigns solely to govern the Koopa province as monarch. That construct is crumbling before my eyes, and integrity can be difficult to maintain under such a circumstance.”

“I'll start the announcement, and we can work from there.” said Iggy. “Sound good?”

“Unfortunately, I must disagree.” said Ludwig. “The people will want to see a known leader on first appearance. They would undeniably question your position if you were to appear first, and given your lack of exposure to politics, I must advise against this.”

“Yeah, Ludwig's right.” said Larry. “He's first, then he should introduce us once he's finished with the beginning of his speech.”

“Fair enough.” said Iggy. “Let's get this over with.”

“Lemmy, you are the Nexus.” said Erzembar. “If you agree with the current balance, then you may become the power source for the devices your civilization calls the television. The Wand of Koopa will be the eye in which they see.”

“So you're the cameraman.” Iggy said to Lemmy.

“Oh.” Lemmy looked around, thinking about everything that's happened so far. He already knew Iggy had a plan and despite Larry's temper, it seemed his mind was also made up. 

“What will you say, Kylie?” asked Lemmy.

“Um...”

“You're Ludwig's other half, right?” Lemmy asked. “Are you guys working as a team?”

“Yes, and we have always done so.” Ludwig said with a hint of annoyance.

“Okay then.” said Lemmy. “I was just wondering because the power is split between you both now, not just you bro.”

“You should know me by now, Lemmy.” said Kylie with a wink. “I can say things on the spot.”

“Ain't that the truth.” Ludwig commented.

“Then let us begin.” said Erzembar.

 

Roy was getting impatient. They were taking their sweet time and the mob had a mind of its own, beginning to settle in the buildings surrounding him. Some appeared to be looting in the chaos and Roy caught a few sneaking off with electronics and clothing from department stores. Most seemed to be standing around and talking to each other, some commentating on the lights in the distance. While that was a good sign, Roy knew that they would make their own plans of escape, regardless of what the three kings and Kylie said to them. It is the end of the world, and they were just freed from slavery. Why wouldn't they run off? His supporters probably wouldn't, and Roy believed that was another reason for their calmness: he was the first one to attack Junior.

Suddenly, every television powered on in the streets, including the giant screens in Main Square. Even damaged ones seemed to work despite such logical fallacies. They all displayed white screens for several moments until King Ludwig's mug appeared on all of them. Cries went up instantly at the sight, with many cheering and others yelling at the TV closest to them. Either way, the calm crowd had rustled up from their calm into a frenzy.

“Greetings, citizens of the Koopa Kingdom.” began Ludwig, his voice echoing out in every direction. “What Crown Prince Lemuel said was true. Our beloved King Bowser is dead, slain along with his arch-nemesis in the fields of the Mushroom Kingdom. His death set events into motion that is now somewhat difficult to explain. The world turned chaotic and hellish, with many thinking that this was caused by the inevitable power vacuum that resulted. Yes, that is one of the many reasons why this world is on the brink of collapse. Yes, what was said by the King of the Blood is also true. Naru has returned, the home world of the gods who once enslaved us. The battle that you have all witnessed had much to do for it. This war was caused by those who desired their return and subsequent slavery of our race, a step backwards in time by those who believed that we were at fault for treading down this path so far on our own. Against them were the ones who first awakened from their spell, just as all of you are now. Needless to say, the battle was been won for the good, despite the heavy losses incurred. The Naru will not return to this world.”

Shouts went up then by those angry by the sudden changes, with some throwing debris at the televisions. Ludwig laughed then, which calmed the crowed rather quickly.

“That's right. How do you know that I am on the side of the good? After all, I could just be another Bowser, right? Wrong. I am here to tell you that I am not the next king of the Koopa Kingdom.”

Ludwig was silent for a moment, judging their reaction. Most talked to themselves, the noise rising again. “You may already suspect that Roy now holds the position. While he will have a new position to wield in the transitional government, Roy will not be the next king.” After a pause, Ludwig backed away and the “camera” seemed to zoom out onto the three kings and queen. “We are the next kings and queen of the Koopa Kingdom.”

An uproar and mass applause followed. It was obvious to them that Ludwig had discarded the one fist rule and opted to rule by group consensus.

“We rule as one body.” explained Ludwig. “And as you are all aware, each body is composed of multiple parts. The King of the Earth, which is myself is responsible for the kingdom as a whole, its management and stability. King Larry you are already familiar with as the King of the Blood. He is the head of the royal family and manages the descendants of Koopa, along with selecting the next King of the Earth rather then by primogeniture. King Iggy here is the King of the Spirit, and is responsible for many things, not only for the light that overswept the entirety of the kingdom, but also for your awakening as well. He will explain in detail after King Larry's speech. Last and certainly not least is my fiancé, Queen Kylie who will be my equal as the Queen of the Earth.”

He paused for applause. It seemed people were happy with the outcome so far, but Ludwig had yet to discuss the part that he feared the most.

“Now, as you may be wondering, when will the government decide to repair and renovate the infrastructure that has been damaged and capitulated? In a way, the answer lies in the sky. Naru, the home world of the gods can now be seen to the right of the rising sun, at approximately the 4 o' clock position.” Various people looked and just as Roy had seen earlier, there was an orb obscured by the sun somewhat but visible. “This monster will grow in size as time passes, as will the earthquakes and other natural disasters. When the time is right, a pole shift will occur, maneuvering the tectonic plates into new positions creating mountain chains, forming new rivers and in many cases redrawing the coastlines. My father, the late Bowser was well aware of how this kingdom would fare which was one reason for his ordered government cover-up. Now, I will tell you exactly what will occur.” He displayed a floating holographic of the planet in front of him.

“During the hour of the pole shift, the tectonic plates will rotate counter-clockwise slightly less than 90 degrees. As you can see, this places the Koopa Kingdom within the arctic circle. For many people, this will be the only explanation they will need to prepare themselves. However, there is a plan in motion for those who do not have such a mind or do not have the capacity to do so. The kingdom will be relocated beyond the western Koopa Crags into the Koopai. This area will become lush and fertile after the shift and preparations for migrations are well under way. While we are not forcing any citizens to leave the area behind, we highly encourage it as this area will become cold, inhospitable, unsustainable and uninhabitable following the shift, not to mention the disasters that will continue to occur. Therefore, we urge you to migrate, if not to the new kingdom in the Koopai, then to an area more fortunate.

“We will be constructing mobile encampments for those currently without a shelter. Here, one may be given the tools necessary for self sustainability. The practice of keeping seed is the most vital skill and will be taught to those who attend. However, it should be stated that with the economy permanently offline, there is a limited supply to most utilities. Stock will not be replenished, and so I stress to those without a survival plan to make use of the resources available. We will clear out only what is vital to ensure the migration is completed as efficiently as possible. We do not encourage looting of other's property. However, if a building remains vacant and unoccupied, it may be a good source of supplies. That being said, we will ensure that gangs do not organize and threaten the peace. We will be aware of their formation, put simply.

“I will now turn the conversation over to King Larry who has more specifics and strategies for surviving what is coming.”

The view turned to Larry. “Hello everyone. Listen. If you're serious about surviving this thing, then it's time to act like we can survive this thing. It's your choice of course. If you want to die, so be it. But living? Survival is a different mindset than swimming the pleasure ocean. It's not like going to McKoopa's whenever you feel hungry or buying clothes on a whim. You have to make due with what you have. Not everyone will understand this. Many will resort to looting and that's already started. Once all of that runs out though, what will be left? Exactly, you have to be self sustaining. Those traveling to the new Koopa Kingdom can choose to travel with teachers who can show you how to grow your own food, raise a farm and be self sufficient, because that's what it's going to take to survive. 

“It will take work, effort and taking action to make your dreams a reality. The old days of instant gratification, like getting your food cooked in 5 minutes whenever you want, those days are going to disappear. We can hold you hand now, but that will no longer be the case very soon. Sitting down and doing nothing is the worst thing to do, honestly. Take charge before it's too late. Gather the essentials, seeds, clothes, tents, blankets, things that will help you survive what's to come. Learn who to trust and who to avoid. And most of all, learn to think on your own. The age of media is gone. We're not going to force you, we're going to leave the choice to you. Thank you.” A loud cheer from minority groups, but otherwise there was a standard applause as the people absorbed his words. The view then turned to King Iggy who smiled.

“Crazy how those stories were true, huh?” he asked. “The age of science brought a perception of ridicule to them, only because of their lack of verifiability. Unseen and unable to fit inside the academic mold, they were discarded as useless fairy tales. For those of you who stood up to this and believed in telling these tales, I thank you. This includes the older generations, many of whom we must rely on now to recall these stories and the older way of life before technology ensnared us all. Many of these stories have turned out to be true. The Legend of the Landstar for instance, which told of a star that shined on the surface of the planet in the ancient days. It was said that at the end of the world, it would return and vanquish the enemy with a bright light. That's exactly what happened, wasn't it? That white light that engulfed this entire kingdom was designed to not only eradicate all of the evil here, but to also awaken all of you from the spells casted by those who wanted to control us. The greatest change was the release of mass negativity and its transmutation into positivity. You may notice that despite the circumstances, you do not feel as negative as before. It was not entirely your fault to begin with.

“That being said, the rumors are true. The ones trying to control us were the UmNaru, the descendants of the Naru who once enslaved our race. Their remains have been discovered, and those who have found them I encourage you to show others. They disintegrated from the light and are now effectively extinct on this planet. Their threat is gone and so are the monsters that invaded the kingdom along with them. Now the focus is on our beliefs. It is challenging to see events that do not follow holy teachings, to see one's faith tested by the reality before us. More often than not, faith is a choice forced upon us when we were kids. There will be those who will believe the scriptures until the end of time, no matter what they see in front of them. Insanity has that effect, it makes one's knowledge absolute above all else and closes the mind to any growth. But who am I to judge, right? After all, I am not God or any concept of a monotheistic deity you worship. Put simply, the longer you see yourself living under God's fear, the harder your life will become. I am not here to dissuade you from your faith, but I am here to say keep your eyes open. As things crumble apart, you'll find that the most important things in life are each other. Experiences like what happened show us this, it's who we need to depend on. Good luck, your mind will need you.”

Applause, and the view shifted to Kylie, prompting many shouts from the females on the streets.

“I know, right?” she said in response. “About time we made things more equal around here. There's something else too that I noticed in all of the king's speeches: none of them were funny. It was all about serious stuff and really, it's nothing to laugh at unless you're my uncle. But this is really is somber stuff and I don't want to see your hearts go down more than they are now. So those of you who can play guitar, a piano, the drums, sing, whatever it is, please do it. You will help us keep going. You guys are the beat that will keep our hearts going. You guys can do this, you are a feisty bunch.

“I have one more thing to say...” she smiled and looked down. “A new gang of Koopalings will be running around in a few months, so if you don't think we have a future, think again! Keep your feet! Love you all!”

There was wild applause for that statement. Iggy smiled, already knowing that Kylie was carrying a batch of eggs. He had been told by Ludwig to keep it a secret as they wanted to surprise everyone. Larry and Lemmy however were surprised, with Larry sighing to himself. “I'm getting old already.” he muttered under his breath.

But Lemmy smiled and put his face in front of the wand. “She's going to be a great mom, right?” The people roared in response, cheering and shouting Lemmy's name. He gave them a thumbs up. “Actually, I do have a part in this.” He turned the wand back around to the four monarchs. “I have to balance all of their power together so that what happened doesn't happen again. The Nexus, they call it. So yeah, I'll be around and so will the rest of us, If you have anything to ask, just ask.” 

“Yes!” Lemmy heard, and he saw it was Roy. “Time for Q & A!” 

“Roy told everyone that we can answer some questions once we finish our speeches.” said Iggy.

“Oh, okay.” said Lemmy. “Then you guys can ask us now if you want and we'll try to answer them.” Shouts went up instantly and Lemmy looked indecisive. “Hmm.”

“One of the most common questions right now is “Are Aliens real?”” said Iggy, reading their minds. “As the Naru are extraterrestrials by definition, this all but confirms the question. Why other aliens haven't landed here yet is something we still have to determine.”

“UFO's have been seen for years.” said Larry. “But where they came from, we still do not know much.”

“Another question is “Why didn't you guys try to stop the cover-up earlier?”” said Iggy. “Well, the reason for this was a space station that once existed called “The Galaxy.” Anyone who knew about the coming pole shift and about Naru in general were blackmailed into living in this place or be jailed indefinitely. It was broken up in the atmosphere, and the rumors of parts of it crashing to the surface are true. Many people on it were eager to tell the world what was happening, but were silenced by different methods, usually wealth. Those times are now past. This is the second time we have announced the pole shift to the Koopa Kingdom. The people originally from the Galaxy have been trying to tell others about Naru, but not everybody has good intentions. Again, learn who you can trust.”

“We will take one more question.” said Iggy. “And the one I'm seeing the most is “How can I help?””

“There are various ways to volunteer with the coming migration.” said Ludwig. “We will have a booth set up just outside the castle premises, which primarily deals with volunteering within the migratory camps, cleaning up debris, moving corpses, protecting key areas and the like. All of this is currently being planned and we have only begun to set up the volunteer network, but if your person feels the need to give of your service, then please feel free to sign up for any of the above activities.”

The Koopalings looked at each other. The crowd began to disperse in certain areas and to Iggy it seemed that some were already getting to work, not to mention that their speech had already taken a long time. He gave a nod to Ludwig. “Then those are the questions we shall answer for the current time. Of course, if you have any other issues, please feel free to speak to any volunteer and they will try to answer your question to the best of their ability. I thank you for your understanding and patience, and wish all of us luck in our survival. Thank you.”

The final cheer from the audience arose after a very long speech. The late Bowser was loathe to do such things during his administration lest it supported his interests. Ludwig was known for his long speeches even before assuming his position, but combined with three other monarchs it became one of the longest speeches they had ever listened to, and for many the longest. People had begun to leave not not only because of a renewed sense of purpose, but because they were growing tired and had heard enough.

The televisions all powered off to darkness and the crowds slowly began to disperse, actively talking to one another. The four monarchs knew that they had a long road ahead of them and much work to do, not only to clean up and salvage what may be useful, but to move and lay the foundations for a new Koopa Kingdom far away. 

Lemmy nodded to himself. It seemed to him that as long as they focused on the large task ahead of them, then their energies were relatively balanced. He was well aware that his judgment was not impartial and was given to personal bias, but that was the challenge before him. He was going to make sure they stayed focused on surviving, and not fall into the pits of despair. However, he couldn't deny that the failing mental health of most people was going to be a huge problem, not to mention Larry's temper...

* * *

They found him. It was about time. He couldn't remember how long it had been since the Galaxy broke apart, or seeing a living being since then. It didn't matter. He was going in the right direction, northeast. He sighed, suddenly glad to see he wasn't the only living male left on the planet.

“stop right there!” came a voice behind him. He turned. It was those bean people. “Where do you think you're going? You know our borders are closed, right?”

Waluigi twisted his wiry frame in confusion. The Earth Changes had taken some toll on him, aside from his obvious mental delinquency. With dirty overalls and hair that nearly went down to his shoulders, it was clear he hadn't seen civilization in quite some time. But with no one to judge him, why should he care?

“Borders?” Waluigi quipped. “What borders? I saw no gates, no tolls, no militia. I saw trees and fruit. I saw her waiting for me past the shore. That's where I'm going, to meet my love. I have waited a long time. Have you come to bring me back to that familiar room.”

The beans looked at each other, utterly confused. “What on Earth is he talking about?” said one to the other, Clearly, they had no idea. It was only the most important mission of his life. Well, he wasn't going backwards at any rate, Not back with them.

“This is my journey...my journey to greatness!” explained Waluigi. “You stop me, and I have some fun. You let me go, I have even more fun. You choose, I choose enough.”

“We will lead you out of our kingdom.” said one of the beans, but Waluigi made his trademark smirk. In a moment he was in the air, leaving the two beans on alert but clueless as to where the strange man went. Little did they know that he was right above them, falling through the air. With his feet extended, Waluigi landed on both of their skulls, killing them instantly. He suddenly looked unamused, as if he had better things to do.

“I must go and see the love of my life. Oh, right. Your reward.” Picking berries off of a tree, Waluigi then proceeded to pull down both of their trousers and stuff each berry up their anuses. It was more fitting for a bunch of clowns.

“Clowns, were you pretending to be my old keepers?” Waluigi asked them, not caring they were now corpses. “That's what I wanted to do with them. They spend so much time with each other. They always did.” He paused, his thought process seemingly interrupted by some invisible force. Turning back around Waluigi looked into the distance, being able to spot the far off ocean somewhere on the horizon. “Soon my Daisy, we will be together again.” He returned to the path he was on before his rude interruption. People were indeed strange creatures, but he knew what he had to do and he was not going to let anyone stop him from doing it.


	32. A Million Tomorrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Koopalings begin their exodus out of the old Koopa Kingdom, only to find the weather not wanting to cooperate. Meanwhile, Larry begins to realize not only what it means to be a Blood King, but the host of a survival shelter as well.

A heavy bulldozer pushed a pile of rubble across the road, clearing the way for vehicles to continue forward along its perpendicular. Behind it was a line of them that pushed themselves across the apocalyptic landscape, buildings damaged and abandoned, unpowered and dark from the disasters it had brunted. In their shadows were a few people who watched on, unable to gather themselves to the reality before them. Walking alongside the vehicles were the somewhat more stable minded, though in truth their hearts were still in shock as to all that happened thus far. The Koopa Kingdom as they knew it had been all but destroyed, from the battles with the UmNaru to the upheavals caused by the monster that lay above the skies. In truth, they didn't want to believe the horrific truth the kings had given them, wanting the easy way out: living their old lives. But their logic tore their hearts, with the reality clear before them: The Great Destroyer of legend had returned, and a pole shift was once again imminent. Down trodden and absorbed in themselves, most walked with hearts conflicted between survival and a more painless existence.

The sky had grown dark above them since they had first set out to their new homeland, as announced by the “Kings and Queen of the Koopas” as they were now called. The storm was rushing right towards them, straight from the western Koopa Crags, their current destination. At the front of the long envoy, a large tank came to a halt at sight of the incoming weather. Opening the porthole, Morton Koopa Jr. climbed out and looked at the sky with a somewhat worried expression. He could not leave anything to chance now. The Great Destroyer had only begun to ravage the lands below it, and Morton knew that they would not be able to afford looking the other way for much longer. He only wished a few of his siblings saw the same way.

Looking behind him, he watched the long caravan halt like a caterpillar as he took out his binoculars to find the Koopa he was looking for. Spotting his vehicle well outside his vocal range, Morton put his binoculars away and grabbed his CB radio nearby.

“Delta 5, this is Alpha 9, over.” he said. Nothing was heard for a moment.

“This is Delta 5, please proceed.” came the response, a cultured tone synonymous with King Ludwig Von Koopa.

“The monster is throwing us a storm.” relayed Morton. “I suggest doing a radar sweep ahead of us.”

Farther down the convoy inside of a more futuristic and luxurious vehicle, King Ludwig scratched his chin in thought, peeking at the many small displays in front of him. Besides the Earthquakes, the weather had not gotten quite bad yet for the area, although the morning frost from the day before was not lost on him. He could see super-cells beginning to form just ahead of the crags, but he was no meteorologist; predicting their severity was not Ludwig's forte. But one thing was for sure: thunderstorms were not the typical weather found around the kingdom, which resembled more of a hot desert. Next to him stirred Queen Kylie, who had some trouble sitting up due to her now bigger belly. Seemingly reading his thoughts, she smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

“You really don't have to do everything.” she suggested. “Let the boys take care of it.”

Ludwig sighed. While she was right, he didn't like hearing it. “I apologize dear, but I cannot help myself.” he replied. “I must do everything that I can.”

“Let those who know better make the call.” said Kylie. “You were planning on continuing anyways, weren't you?”

“I won't lie.” was all Ludwig said as he continued to deliberate the situation. Eventually he hummed and took hold of his radio. “Theta 7,” he called, “What does the upper atmosphere currently show?”

“Hi Ludwig,” came Lemmy Koopa's response, not caring for radio jargon. Flying above the lower cloud layers inside the ancient ship he discovered not too long ago, he could clearly see the storm clouds ahead of him, their large white tops reaching up into space. From his perspective, this was not normal weather. These were thunderstorm clouds, something he had never seen above the Koopa Kingdom in his life.

“Yeah, these are thunderstorms.” Lemmy relayed. “Pretty big ones, with the big fluffy tops. Oh shit, I just saw lightning in one of them.”

“So I have surmised.” said Ludwig. “My thanks.” Ludwig turned to a different frequency. “I will require your expertise on the current weather. What is your analysis?”

“Super-cell storms have formed off the western basin.” came the reply. “Fueled by a warm front that is somehow extending its reach all the way up here. But my main concern is is the rotation some of these cells are showing.”

“Rotation?” echoed Ludwig. Back at the front of the convoy, the wind began to increase dramatically, a moist air reminiscent of the tropics. Morton saw the dark line of clouds headed toward him, but his eyes were on a section that seemed to be extending towards the ground. “If that's what I think it is, then we need to move.”

“Hm?” came Ludwig's reply, and Morton simply rolled his eyes. And he thought he was thick headed.

“It's a tornado, a twister.” Morton explained. “Yeah, never happened in this kingdom before and I don't know how the hell its staying alive, but here it is.”

Ludwig rubbed his forehead. “My apologies, my person is being rather sloth currently. I remember them rolling across the Mushroom Plains in my youth and they are not to be underestimated. A detoured route would now be most effective, though I understand that few pathways have been cleared of hubris.”

The tornado touched the ground, just outside of the urban center to their southwest. Churning up debris, it seemed to be headed straight towards them.

“Keep moving forward?” suggested Morton. But Ludwig knew the decision wasn't as easy as Morton presumed it to be. Most of the inner city streets were still congested with debris. Breaking up the caravan in all directions may be futile, as not all vehicles were capable of climbing the rubble on their own. There was the idea of relocating those in lighter vehicles into the heavier artillery, but that would take too long of a time, not to mention the tanks eating up most of the fuel supply due to the increased weight. Either away, Ludwig knew they were sitting ducks unless something was done, and fast.

“I'm seeing a lot of spinning clouds up here.” Lemmy relayed with a worried tone. This seemed to propel Ludwig to action, finally making up his mind. He shifted his radio frequency to Channel 11, the common station for the military.

“Too all commanders of artillery.” Ludwig began. “This is the King. Inclement weather approaches, and precautions must be taken to ensure the survival of the exodus. To all those individuals responsible for the clearing of debris, take the nearest street along with a group of vehicles no less than five at a time. Using your fine judgement, travel in a westerly direction as the weather permits, reporting to your highest officer on board. This is the best strategy for surviving what appears to be a tornado, which is currently moving towards our position.” Even as he said this, more funnel clouds were seen descending from the sky and those who saw them already got the hint. The company began to break up, turning onto side streets with tanks hoisting large plows leading the way.

“As always, betrayal in my company is forbidden, punishable by death.” Ludwig reminded them. “But of course, this only applies to those serving under my administration. Citizens are free to come and go as they wish. Upon reaching the pass, report to Gamma 7 who shall direct your inquiries. God speed.” With that, he switched the frequency to Channel 7. “Commander Rapport, please lead my company through the nearest northerly crossroad and head towards the pass in this manner.” 

“Sir!” came the reply, and after switching to Channel 13 Ludwig finally laid back and relaxed, mostly certain he did the right thing. 

“I don't even remember the last time I saw a Tornado.” commented Kylie. “Maybe I've been here for too long.”

“The now former Koopa Kingdom was not subject to much severe weather,” said Ludwig. “The crevasses that vent the magma flows often kept congested cloud formation away from this vicinity, excluding pyroclastic cloud of course. The crags also prevent moisture from the Koopai region from flowing into the area. Hence, the region is a vast rocky desert with little water, which had been an ongoing problem for most residents. Funny, as ice accumulates upon much of the surrounding mountainous region.”

“I never saw it rain here, now that you mention it.” commented Kylie.

“It is a rare sight indeed.” said Ludwig. “And any cloud formation that does not dissipate simply produces silent lightnings with little else before moving on. If these are true thunderstorms ahead of us, then the weather of the world is indeed changing.”

As if on cue, raindrops were heard falling on their roof, soon accompanied by louder clangs.

“Speak of the devil.” Ludwig muttered.

“Is that hail?” Kylie asked.

“Yes, your highness.” came the voice of their driver.

“Can I see?”

But Ludwig stopped her. “Let me reorient a monitor.” Ludwig sat up and twirled one his outer cameras to the roof of their metallic vehicle. Hail the size of golf balls were seen pounding it and the surrounding vicinity.

“Wow, that's a sign.” Kylie said half to herself. “I'm glad we're getting out of here, though I sort of miss this place already.”

“Not to mention the damage that will be sustained.” Ludwig muttered. That reminded him of Morton, and he forced himself to sit up again.

“Alpha 9, come in.” he relayed. There was silence. No response came.

“Alpha 9, respond.” Again there was nothing. Ludwig did not know that his calls were being drowned out by the pouring rain, the wind and the howling of Morton's tank as Morton peered out of the porthole trying to think of a way out of his circumstance. While the original Tornado was long moved past him, another had formed to his northeast and was moving towards him on a parallel path, Debris had already begun to fall from the high winds, littering roads previously cleared. For some reason, his driver began to slow down.

“What are you doing?” Morton shouted at his driver, thinking him insane.

“Dude, that thing is headed right towards us!” he cried back, but Morton swore to himself. He climbed back down into the cockpit and pulled the driver from his seat.

“You don't just stop and die, you fucking go!” Morton put the pedal to the metal and zoomed off straight towards the oncoming twister. The remains of the standing skyscrapers began to teeter back and forth, tossing more debris in his path.

“You guys behind me, I'm detouring to the left!” Morton announced on his radio. 

“There's another tornado forming down that way!” came the response, and Morton tossed the radio behind him in frustration. “Fucking great. Then let's just steamroll through this shit, why don't we?” He didn't have much of a choice now, save for turning around and that was not his style. The tornado to his right came closer, traveling on a steady course to the East. The winds picked up dramatically, and loose debris began to fly by the tank.

“Close the hatch!” Morton ordered his driver, “Oh and get my radio.” The skyscraper to his right suddenly leaned forward and then crumbled to the left, immediately prompting Morton to veer to the left, avoiding falling stonework that crumbled to the road on his right. The building looked ready to split in half.

His former driver handed him the radio. “Drive as fast as you fucking can!” Morton ordered, well aware the building could fall onto the road at any second. Another building, a one story line of shops suddenly exploded in flames and Morton had to veer back to the right. His line of sight became increasingly clouded by rain and debris, not to mention the funnel of the tornado that was virtually right next to him.

“Hey Lemmy!” Morton called into his radio. “I need another pair of eyes. Where are these tornado's going?”

“Uhm...” Lemmy squinted and tried to follow the slow movement of the twisters. Poor Lemmy could not do much else, being above cloud line without any weather equipment and already near the opening to the Koopahari pass. But after thinking for moment, he pressed a button next to him and a grid of the local topography came into view on his large display, overlaying the cloud layer. “Oh, that helps. There's a twister right next to you.”

“I know!” Morton shouted.

“Okay then. There's another one headed to you, but I think you're going fast enough to outrun it.”

An explosion was what Lemmy heard in response along with crunching noises. “Yeah, that was the other one.” Morton shouted back. “I'm going straight to the pass and will wait there. Can you see anything else in my way?”

“Twisters? No.” relayed Lemmy. “There's a lot of crap on the ground and a lot of rain though.”

“So nothing new. Okay, thanks.” Morton's tank was crushing stone and wood underneath it, along with debris normally found inside homes and offices. While the twisters seemed to be past him, the damage it left behind wasn't. Many parts of the city now resembled a large yard of rubble, with lines of people trying to push past it all to the other side. It seemed nature had decided to throw them the punches straight after King Ludwig's announcement to the populace. But that just encouraged Morton to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. His father was dead and so was his kingdom. It was time to move on.

Eventually, Morton made it to the Koopahari pass opening, a two-lane highway that cut straight into the mountains and out of sight. Just outside of it was a large camp set upon the lower hills, with Lemmy's star flag raised. It appeared that Lemmy intended to go no further that day and Morton didn't really blame him. 

He pulled up on the slopes of a vacant hill and shut off the tank. The line behind him got the hint and stopped in the surrounding area. His former driver seemed eager to get out and for a moment Morton considered stopping him. But after seeing him skimp out and run across the hill to the north, he realized that would have been futile. His day was hardly over.

Morton climbed through the port hole, shutting and locking it before jumping down from the tank. He made his way to Lemmy's camp, but saw several others rushing towards him, each shouting something frantic.

“Hey! I got a call from one of the groups down there.” said one. “They're stuck, I guess they're blocked by debris from those tornado's.”

“Yeah, I got one too.” said another. “Nothing we could do then though.”

“Well, we could help now.” said yet another. “Has there been anything from King Ludwig?”

“No, so here's what we're doing.” said Morton. “If you're in my company...you, you and you, head out there and see what you can do. Bring one or two empty jeeps each, but no more than that. We're on rations, remember? Rest of us need to set up camp. Leave room for King Ludwig on the other side, I'll try and get a hold of him.”

“Well, there's a plan.” one of them remarked and the rest scattered in various directions. Morton took the radio from his belt. “Delta 5, come in.” he relayed, There was no response. Looking out across the kingdom, he could see the tornado's continue to march eastward across the rocky outcrops into the inner city, though the worst of it having passed from his location. For a moment, Morton wondered about Roy who had decided to stay behind in King John's castle, but he had too much on his hands at the moment to do much else.

“Delta 5, this is Alpha 9. Come in.” Morton relayed again, impatiently tapping his foot. It wouldn't have surprised him if Ludwig got caught in the rubble. Then again, he was no Bowser and no one would be ever again.

“A Koopa like the rest of us, huh?” Morton muttered under his breath. “Theta 7. This is Alpha 9. Come in.”

“Roger roger. What's up?” came Lemmy's voice.

“Big Wig's MIA.” said Morton.

“You see? I told you I had a bad feeling about this whole thing!” Lemmy complained.

“Yeah well, we can't stop it now.” said Morton. “We gotta keep going. So as my new commander in chief, do you approve of camping here for tonight? I assume that's what you had in mind.”

“That was, yeah.” responded Lemmy. “And go through the mountains in the morning. We;re going to have supper soon over here if you guys don't want to waste your food.”

“I'll take you up on that offer.” Morton said, unable to say no to free food. “Hey, did you send out any guys out for-”

“Yeah, there's a few of my guys out there.” said Lemmy. “I don't know if splitting up like that was a good idea. It would have been better to just stick together instead of driving all over the place.”

“I get what he did.” said Morton. “But we might lose time for this. Well, whatever. If everyone gets here in one piece, that's what matters.” With that, Morton put his radio away and made his way over to Lemmy's encampment for that evening's supper, thankful for free food.

* * *

Within the halls of Genlic people went to and fro, all with a sense of purpose as to their duty. Each one at least seemed to know of their purpose: some carried supplies, others had carts full of them. Short lines remained in queue for the light elevators that transported them to their proper levels, much of them headed towards the agricultural sectors below the ground level. Each of them worked their part of the job to stay within the fortress. Their effects were awarded with a share of the food and a place to rest. The work put in comes back to them.

Larry sighed, leaning against a railing overlooking the ground level from above. They were bees, but each had a similar dream of self sustainability. He had that dream also, but what has he done to earn his position?

“Thats it.” he muttered. There was a reason why he was being excluded from the latest council meetings. Well, not so much excluded as ignored. His presence was no longer required, and the council he set up seemed to have a mind of its own. At first thought, Larry could shrug it off to his job as the Blood King, helping the Koopa Kingdom pack up and migrate to their new location. But upon seeing those people during the announcement the day prior and his latest “antagonism” as Ludwig called it, there was more to this problem than he thought. People were heading in different directions and he felt it. What disturbed him was that Iggy was saying nothing about it. He probably feared his reaction, but regardless Larry had figured it out himself. People were polarizing, from apathy to selflessness or selfishness. Wendy seemed to be a case in point. Granted she was always obsessed about herself, but her point of view seemed to have hardened to a sole focus on herself. She did not give a care about anyone else. The people that moved below him were of a completely different mindset. This was mutual cooperation, each playing a part to sustain the whole. Then you had all the people in between, those whose lives became harder everyday due to the Earth changes. Were they being forced to make a decision?

What was causing all of this? If this was spiritual in origin, then it had nothing to do with the Destroyer. Larry knew that he had more questions than answers as far as that went. Iggy was silent on a lot of this. Perhaps he thought that people were not ready yet. Regardless, it seemed that he was going to have to find the answers himself.

Larry inhaled, trying not to think of his own problems. They were on the edge of his mind, and he knew he had to focus on the people in front of him if they were to be resolved. What happened that night could not happen again. He needed to not just be the head of all this, but to be a part of it all. It was one thing to see his dream come true, but it was another to live in that dream. He hadn't been living in it, and that needed to change. 

Larry walked towards one of the light elevators, which brought him down to the ground level. He walked into the crowds as if he were one of them. Due to his height people took notice, giving him glances as he walked past them. Thankfully, they didn't stop what they were doing but Larry felt awkward, realizing how out of touch he had become. It was his selfishness, his fear of being hurt but Larry forced himself to think positively. He had to learn how to work inside of the dream he created.

Wading through the crowds, Larry made his way to one of the larger light elevators, undeniably made for beings of larger stature. The people surrounding him simply made room for him without a fuss, like he was simple one of them. Larry felt awkward as the elevator descended down into the agricultural floors of Genlic. He had anticipated a cold reception thus far but judging from the looks on their faces, this did not seem to be the case. 

The elevator stopped: it was an agricultural level that grew a variety of mushrooms. Despite the subterranean location of the farm, the level was well lit with many LED lamps shining down from above, casting a pale white over everything. Intermixed were the yellow sun lamps that sat just above each row, imitating the real thing. Rows of mushrooms were tended by workers that numbered close to 100, the maximum capacity for such a work force. A line of workers with wheelbarrows filled with mushrooms waited for them along the side of the wall: a harvesting party. 

With the rest of the crowd, Larry walked off the elevator and into the plantation. He meandered into one of the rows, watching the workers pluck the mushrooms from the ground. It reminded him of his own gardening skills, something he wished to employ with greater awareness. They had employed his hydroponics idea, feeding the rows of mushrooms with water piped underneath the fortress. However, he noticed the mushrooms were a bit smaller than they could have been.

"Excuse me,” Larry said to a worker in front of him, “Have these mushrooms always been this small?”

“Well sir, you know we don't add preservatives to our stock.” he said, a Koopa Troopa with light blue jean shorts. “Or add fertilizers that ain't natural. What you see is what we've been getting since we started planting these.”

“Well, this is the normal method.” explained Larry. “But there's a way to make them about one third bigger than that. It depends on a lot of things.” He looked at the sun lamps above, soon realizing he would have to check the electrical control room to see their intensity.

“Hey, aren't you one of the board members?” asked the Koopa Troopa.

Larry sighed. “I am, but I'm just getting back into the swing of things. They don't know about this method, clearly. Well, thank you for your time.”

“My pleasure, anything to help.” said the Koopa Troopa as Larry walked across the plantation and towards another elevator. And that's how his day went: hunting down the members of the board to discuss his idea for a bigger mushroom yield by increasing unit volume, and and implementing the method before having to rewrite harvesting procedures for the workers. It was a day he did not expect as nobody seemed angry at him for being gone for so long due to his troubles with the kingdom northwest of him. They had gotten along fine without him.

That's right, he wasn't really needed, was he?

Dinner soon arrived, and work came to a close as people rushed to the handful of levels designed for eating. They had congregated themselves en mass within those floors and opened up a variety of eateries on their own time. To these the flocks rushed, wanting to savior the creative mixtures of the harvest just days past by the hands of cooks and artists. The place was an echoing ruckus; Larry was simply another one of the herd looking for his daily share. Maneuvering through the crowd, he scanned the line of vendors along the walls, trying to decide what to eat. One vendor stood out, not only for it's long line but for what it offered: pizza.

Dubbed “Mona's Pizza,” it seemed that Mona stayed true to her word and had opened up a pizza shop in the eatery, becoming one of the more popular establishments. Larry ended up waiting for longer than he anticipated, but he almost didn't notice the time pass as he was still lost in his own mind.

“Next!” Larry looked up and suddenly saw he was next. Time was indeed flying by.

“Wow, the big Koopa himself is here!” cheered Mona. “How about I get you the house special?”

“Nah, that's okay.” said Larry. “I'll just be like everybody else. 3 slices of Mushroom pizza please.”

“Alright, but I don't want you to pay a coin.” Mona said and Larry reluctantly nodded his head. Quickly cutting him 3 slices, she put them on a paper plate and smiled. “We're recycling those too, by the way. Thank you for stopping by!” Larry forced a smile before walking off, leaving the woman with a puzzled expression.

He already had his eating spot made up, but it took him a few minutes to reach using the light elevators. Within the upper levels classified as being his domain was the perfect spot to watch the sun set across the ocean. Reached by a type of circular elevator similar to the one used during his initiation, it was a seemingly gaping hole in the black walls of Genlic, with two large seats protruding from the floor below. Larry took the left seat and immediately munched on his pizza, having waited long enough for it. For once, his thoughts were silenced: the pizza was that good. It was a break from worry and he was not about to lose it. Because of this, he was unaware of the entity staring at him from inside the too his right. It was only when it stepped out onto the floor did Larry immediately look up, before relaxing.

“Hello...Larry.” said Ashley, now a transparent image of her previous incarnation. This was the first time Larry had seen her walk out of the walls of Genlic.

“What's going on, Ashley?” Larry asked, eating his pizza again. But Ashley did not respond, instead looking out over the sea towards the setting sun, now glowing orange and casting its rays over the water. At length, she eyed her former lover chowing on his pizza crust like an animal. That's right, we were all animals at one point, weren't we?

Ashley sat down on the seat next to him, her glare lost in the water. “I'm running out of time.” she said.

“With what?” asked Larry, finishing his last piece of crust.

“Here. I must start my next incarnation soon.” stated Ashley. Larry stopped eating and looked at her. “The spirits are calling me. I must let you go.”

Larry felt something inside of him then, something he realized he had long denied. “You know, I wish I had done...more with you.”

“So do I.” said Ashley. “I still linger because I regret...not saying how much I loved you.”

Larry nodded. “I...am a coward, Ashley.” he struggled to say. “That's why I never told you. I love ou, and I mean it. I meant everything.”

“Larry, risk getting hurt.” Ashley said suddenly.

“Huh?”

“It is far better to risk getting hurt then to be afraid and regret what you could have done. You loved me, but you were hard to open.”

Larry looked on in silence.

“Don't regret me.” she continued. “I want you to be happy. Find someone and don't let me hold you back.”

“...we have to let go of each other so we can both be happy.” Larry said, finally understanding.

“Yes...” Ashley put on a rare smile. “I can't thank you enough, by the way...”

“It was what you wanted, so I incinerated it.” said Larry. “Nothing is left of your body but ash.”

“My existence here has been wiped clean.” said Ashley. “Good.”

Larry looked down at his plate. “And now I mean it. I'm sorry...” But when he looked up, the seat was empty as if no one had been there.

“...for being a coward.” he finished to himself. The sun glowed a bright red as it continued to descend towards the horizon, illuminating his space with a fiery glow. Larry put his hand on his forehead and sighed, finally losing what he long denied could be lost.

“Goodbye, Ashley.”Absorbed in himself, time became lost as a flood of thoughts and feelings rushed past him. All of those worries and regrets broke over his dam of self control, a new perception taking shape in his mind. Ashley was right. Too much time was wasted in worry and regret. He needed to live his life, not relive his past. But how could that be done without getting hurt?

He opened his eyes and saw another pair of scaly feet in front of him. Looking up, he saw an immense Koopa King with decorated horns and dressed in leather surrounding various colors of body paint. He guessed him to be one of the Blood Kings from upstairs, but why would he be here and why now?

The Koopa spoke something in his native language, and with a grunt walked past him towards the hallway. Looking behind him, Larry saw a line of similarly dressed Koopas, though shorter in stature moving left to right across the hall. Surmising that the kings were trying to show him something, Larry got up from his seat and walked towards the line. As he got closer, it became clear that the people were transparent. Indeed, this was a vision that one of the Blood Kings wanted to show.

Larry walked down with them, growing suspicious as to their intent. The normally darkened hallways were instead illuminated with the red light of the sun, and around a corner he saw the outside, filled with huts and dancing folk. A humid air blew over him and Larry winced, trying to take in the full view. The climate was much more arid and he guessed that Genlic must have been inside the tropical zone in the past, given the rocky climate it contained during the present day. It had been forecasted for Genlic to move into such a climate again after the pole shift. Surely this had something to do with it.

But he had thought too long: the ancient Blood King was gone. Larry rounded a curve and attempted to retrace his steps, moving past other tribal Koopa's who didn't seem to take notice of him. He reached a small theater with the back wall open to the outside, and a large red sun that beamed its light in. He was on a level above the greater audience, where many below sat and played a variety of instruments of crude design. Others sang along in the same language from before, but Larry's mind as not on the song. He knew where he was in regards to Genlic. He was facing the eastern plain that stretched into the distance, a sight that looked somewhat familiar here. What was not familiar was the sun, which he could clearly see lowering in the eastern sky in front of him. Did that mean Genlic had turned 180 degrees, and was essentially upside down?

His thoughts were interrupted by a cry, which ceased the song making. From the right came the Blood King, standing over the others and giving a speech in his own tongue. Stopping, he suddenly looked at Larry and smirked, with the latter folding his arms and shifting his weight. He still had no idea what this guy's intent was.

With a short spoken order, another being entered from the left: a Blood Queen. Larry inhaled and finally knew where this was going, or so he thought. The King and Queen came together and joined hands, and those sitting immediately stood at the action, looking at their leaders with respectful faces. The two exchanged a short conversation, both looking glad about something.

“Easier said than done.” Larry muttered to himself. “These aren't the ancient days anymore.” The Blood Queen looked at him with a wondrous face, then turned to her mate and said a few words. Turning to Larry, both monarchs raised the Blood Wand, split into its polarities and emitted a light at their tips: one fuchsia and one blue. The colors beamed toward the sun behind them, twirling between each other. They were joined by other pairs of colors, six in all that circled around the sun. The sun grew brighter, a white light growing in the center that soon engulfed the entire sight of Larry's vision.

When he blinked, the Blood King and Queen were gone and so were all the tribal people. The sun had disappeared, replaced with a night sky carrying echoes of thunder. Below him were another gathering of people, some playing instruments, some singing along while others enjoyed the atmosphere. 9-volt had his keyboard rigged to a small amplifier and had started the equivalent of a jam band. Others cheered them along, especially Bombette who looked quite cheerful. 

But Larry had not moved, still staring out into the darkness with folded arms. He was scared, yet they had it. What did they risk? Everything, for understanding. After all, the unknown breeds fear and insecurity. He knew what that was like, always did. But he couldn't let the unknown control him any longer. He needed to see the other side: understanding.

He regained control of his body through sheer willpower and managed to unfold his arms and begin walking again, towards the left. He walked along a hallway and up a long ramp which led into a room he saw nearly every morning: the conference room. Now it was dark and unlit, save for a flicker of lightning signaling an approaching storm. Larry knew that this was no weather of Genlic, which had rapid and thick streaks of lightning. Neither was the region susceptible to rain, being a temperate desert. It was all undeniably the wobble the world was going through, trying to realign itself back to the sun while the Great Destroyer told it otherwise. At least that's what Ludwig and his own research told him.

“Everyone is closing themselves up.” came a voice, feminine. There was a silhouette of someone sitting on one of the chairs, slumped over the table. “What the hell am I going to do? No one's really alive, they just exist. They're just walking bodies.”

Larry said nothing, slowly coming to the realization that he was not in this alone. Gathering himself, he moved to the end of the long table and sat in its seat, folding his hands in front of him. 

“Tools.” she said. “Why are people such tools?”

“They were made that way, frankly.” said Larry. She looked up and Larry saw it was Mona. It definitely did sound like her. “That wasn't the original intent,” he continued. “But slaves are fearful of anything they cannot understand.”

“Those people are not slaves.” she said. “So why do they act like them?”

Larry couldn't say anything. He had only begun to re-immerse himself in the daily life. 

“I try so hard to open them up, but all they have are those fake smiles.” Mona muttered. “I-”

“They are hurting already.” said Larry, realizing why they had never payed any attention to him. “And the shift's not even in full swing yet.”

“What can I do?” Mona asked, finally looking at him, but in the near darkness little of her could be made out. Mona's interests went unrequited, a painful result which after months of burial had seemingly burst out in tears. It seemed the expression of true emotion was forbidden during the last days. What was a darkened face, but another being simply existing? What happened to light in people's faces? Hidden no doubt, but to Larry not forgotten. He wanted to do something, but didn't know what.  
But after another flash of lightning, something hit him then, a gut feeling. Sometimes, the solution to a complicated problem was simple.

“I can't deal with this shit...” Mona whispered to herself. At that, Larry got up and walked to the windows behind her, staring out over the vast rocky desert to his east, Lightning was flashing across the landscape with a few droplets falling to the ground.

“What am I going to do?” Mona asked aloud.

“Want a hug?” Larry offered. Mona sighed to herself and got up. “Yeah...I need one.” They embraced and she hugged him tightly, glad to finally have some comfort.

“I'm so sick of-”

“Sh, stop complaining.” said Larry. “You're in one of the best shelters in the world. It could be a lot worse. Even then, people are not going to be perfect in a crumbling world, even in this place. You have to keep your head up.”

Mona smiled, unable to let go. “You know, I need someone to hold onto...can I stay with you tonight?”

Larry immediately raised his brows but Mona laughed at the sight. “I didn't mean it like that! I just need someone to hold onto.”

“I was going to say I'm not accepting a princess right now.” said Larry.

“Good, cause I'm nothing like one. I'm more broken than that.”

“So you need an oversized teddy bear.” Larry said. 

“So? That could be cute.” said Mona. “You know, I'm going to get you one now.”

“I still have my childhood blankie.” Larry confessed.

“Oh, he confessed!” Mona remarked. “Do you still use it?”

“No, and you can';t make me.” said a defiant Larry.

“That's okay, you can hold onto me.” The two held onto each other in silence for more than a few moments, until Larry's stomach started to growl. Evidently, the pizza he had wasn't enough. 

Let's get some supper.” he suggested.

“I already gave you yours.” Mona pointed out. “It wasn't enough?”

“Plus you deserve it more than me.” nodded Larry. “And I need some real meat.”

“Carnivore.” Mona looked at her watch. “We should probably head down there before people hit their sacks. If we're lucky, we can snag a good meal.”

“We're been lucky so far.” said Larry. But that's all he could say as they made their way back to the food court. They have been very lucky so far.


	33. Kappur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy Koopa visits his now insane sister with little change in her condition, while King Iggy Koopa ponders the current situation with his new love, Penny Crygor. But the fun doesn't begin until everyone is asleep...

The door opened: the roar of the heat, the clinking of the chains and most of all, a million cries of agony and anger filled Roy Koopa's ears. The castle dungeons were the problem. It wasn't the increasingly lawless lands on the surface that were a threat. Desires put on a leash were easily taken care of: bribes, drink, cheap sex, it didn't matter. But when your desires puts the leash around you, it's a different story. Controlled by them, they landed up here during Bowser's reign as common criminals, hackers, conspirators especially. The first level held the easy ones like that. The dungeons were like a rotten onion: the more you peeled back, the worse it got. And considering the Earth Changes, Roy knew the place was a ticking bomb waiting to go off unless he kept the place under control. In his mind, he knew that as far as this place went, Ludwig was doing the right thing. If these fuckers ever got loose to the surface, they'd tear apart what was left and give everyone a new asshole to work with. Except, now the kingdom was being relocated and they'd get nothing but rubble and the occasional straggler instead. Good Plan. But the problem wasn't the guys on level one getting free. 

The heat increased dramatically as Roy rounded the corner to the “open pit” of level one: a vast underground lake of lava crisscrossed with metal cages hanging above it, holding many inside. Vast iron crosses bolted the larger ones for corporeal punishment, crying from their torment. Lining the walls of the lake were the minors, or petty criminals.

Seeing them, Roy suddenly stopped walking. Something hit him then, much like when the light hit him then. This was the place where his pop stored all his hatred of the world. He was gone, and this place would be following him soon. It was a gut feeling and Roy always followed his gut. He had hoped the pole shift would take care of those down here, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it wasn't that easy. Many down here didn't deserve the shit they got. But if he let some of these guys go...

Roy started walking and made his way across the open pit, glancing at the outer edge where the minors were held. As usual, they shouted at him with many noticing his missing shades. And as usual, he kept going without saying a word. Down here, you had to keep moving.

In the back corner was an elevator shaft, crudely made with iron bars and greasy wheels. Just like many things down here, it had not been updated since the medieval ages despite the technological advances on the surface. “Not like that matters now,” thought Roy as he descended through the levels. But the simple technology gave him an idea, something he would have to employ later as ruler of the “Old Kingdom.”

With a shutter, the elevator came to a halt on the last level of the dungeon: level eight. It was sealed with a thick full plated door enforced with electronic security, one of the only enhancements to the place. However, the display next to the door was unlit due to the power being cut days ago and the door was instead reinforced with many bolts around its perimeter. Stepping out, Roy walked to the right of the door and took hold of a metallic wheel, turning it with some effort. Slowly, the bolts retracted into the door until Roy reached the end of the line with a clang. With that, Roy opened the door and walked into a long narrow hallway lined with other heavily armed doors and lit with the faint glow of lava via vents from underneath the floor. Unlike the other levels, this hall was absolutely silent save for the dull rumble of the lava far below. Housing the most dangerous psychopaths and political prisoners, sound proof walls were installed to shut out their frequent cries.

Roy stopped at Cell 8263, staring at the door for a moment before quietly opening the visor to take a peek inside. Sure enough, she was up to her old antics of talking to herself. His sister would have made a maniacal queen at the end of the day and Roy wondered how much damage the UmNaru really did to her mind. But in a way, she was already like this and they just brought out the worst of her for everyone to see. In many ways, Roy knew that he should be more thankful for what Lemmy did to him during the invasion. Like Larry, if he had been under their spell for much longer, he probably would've ended up like her, or worse.

At length, he opened the cell door into the holding area, designed to talk with prisoners without having to open their cells. Wendy noticed the noise, glancing at Roy as he entered but quickly went back to talking with herself, not seeming to care.

“I really like that dress...” she murmured. “They might be my competitor, but I might have to wear it for my coronation...unless my lackeys can make something better. When the power comes back on and Ludwig's beaten to shit I should call them. Roy, have you guys defeated Ludwig yet?”

Roy just looked at her, disappointed that nothing had changed from the last time he saw her. “Nope.” he said bluntly. “He's still alive.”

“What the hell is taking so long?” Wendy complained. “I mean, I get beating Junior. Junior is dead, right?”

“Yeah, for the 3rd time.” Roy answered. 

“So it's obviously me then.” Wendy said, walking around her cell impatiently. “Even daddy thought he was too spoiled and, lavish mind you, to even think about warning his seat. But daddy doesn't know what I can do. He never believed me and I just don't get it. Why wouldn't he pick me? What did I do wrong?” she asked in her not so innocent tone of voice. 

Roy knew the right thing to say, but also knew better than to reason with a psychopath. “You should be asking...” he started, pausing for a moment. “...why the UmNaru didn't pick ya.”

Wendy suddenly screamed aloud in a fit of rage and slammed the bars in front of Roy. “Don't question them!” she growled.

“No point.” Roy said bluntly. “They're dead.”

“You betray us?!” she hissed. “You were never much use to begin with!” She slammed the bars again, but Roy casually walked to a control panel in the wall and pushed one of the buttons inside. Wendy hit the bars harder but this time she was electrocuted and was unable to move. Eventually she fell to the ground and lay motionless as smoke rose from her body. 

“Next time, I use white magic on ya.” Roy said, annoyed. He was well aware that the last attempt to purge her mind using that stuff was unsuccessful. However, it didn't mean that they should stop trying.

“You alive?” He looked through the bars. Wendy had not moved, but he could see that she was still breathing. It was clear that she was fully infected with the UmNaru's black magic and from what Roy remembered from Iggy, trying to reverse that could cause brain damage.

“I'll get yer dress.” Roy said.

“Why?” asked a weak Wendy.

“Cause Ludwig moved away.” said Roy. “So I'll let you pretend you're queen for a while.”

But Wendy scoffed. “And what about you? You would try and stop me.”

Roy smirked, but did not respond. She wasn't the only one, but everyone thinks they are down here. He turned to go, having had enough of her.

* * *

“Yeah, she's gone.”

Buried in a number of holographic displays, Penny Crygor looked up at the sound of his voice. “Who's gone?”

“My sister.” responded King of the Spirit Iggy Koopa, sitting upon his high throne of Erzembar. “She's gone 100%. Couldn't save her in time, but you know what? “With a wave of his hand, a gigantic holographic globe manifested and expanded outwards to a large radius, in which a river of thought and circumstance could be seen. Iggy pointed to one of these, where an angered female Koopaling was seen screaming like an animal and hitting the walls of her cell.

“Penny, meet Wendy.” Iggy said.

“Wow...” was all Penny could say as she watched Wendy tear up the walls with her claws as if she were a psychopath.

“She's pretty much the equivalent of that.” said Iggy, commenting on her thoughts. “I tried treating her with white magic, but her mind was too absorbed in the black by that point. In her state now, her mind would collapse.”

“I'm sorry.” Penny muttered.

“Don't be.” said Iggy, pushing the vision away. “What you see has always been her, but brought out into the open and accelerated towards full maturity. She will be like that for the rest of her life because her spirit is like that. Look at these.” he pointed with his finger, rearranging the thoughts of the mass population and their physical movements into separate areas.

Penny nodded, noting the major differences. “People cope that way, Iggy.” she pointed out. “Insecure people have some of the worst thoughts. They can't believe what they see, so they kill it.” She looked at their violent thoughts of unweighted heroism and death again. “Over and over.”

Iggy smiled. “It's not just that. All this is an effect to the cause. What's causing it? The environment? Not just that.”

“Um, spirit orientation?” guessed Penny.

“Yup. Selfish is as selfish does.” said Iggy. “Oh, and thank you for trying.”

Penny laughed. “You know science never supported that stuff, but I definitely think there's a lot of truth to what you're saying.” She looked back at her work. “But I have a bigger problem. What would happen if I became a 'Koopa Queen'?”

Dispelling the globe, Iggy jumped down from his high seat and looked at Penny's statistical analysis displayed on the screens in front of him. Human DNA was indeed a bit different.

“Makes me wish I had a record of my transformation.” Iggy thought aloud. “Then I could see what my blood was doing.”

“Your excreted sweat was collected following the battle with the UmNaru.” Erzembar announced unexpectedly. A diagram was displayed where the holographic globe formally was, displaying transformation amongst the cells that had yet evolved to his new form.

“New species...” Iggy murmured, not having the chance to look at his new self up close until now. “The wand seems to introduce a strain that wraps itself around the double helix, which creates a set of new codons...creating a triple helix.” He was silent for a moment. “So it looks like you would get many features of this strain, but since this is human DNA we're talking about-”

“Incompatibility, right?” said Penny.

“Not necessarily.” said Iggy. “This is the first time I've looked at this thanks to all this stuff going on.” He waved his hand erratically as if to accentuate the effect. “Really, the question is will this third strand do any damage to you?” But just as he said this, he received a brainwave. “If Penny touches the wand, will the wand automatically adjust to her genetics?” he asked Erzembar.

“Yes.” replied Erzembar. “However, a human has never touched the spirit wand and its effects on this species remains unknown. By nature, if the wand is not compatible with a receptor site, it will not connect and that particular ability will remain dormant. Considering other species who have once touched the wand, it can be said that DNA destruction is non-existent.”

“That's a start.” Iggy mentioned.

“Okay, I'll try.” sighed Penny, thankful to try something potentially less harmful. Iggy took out the Wand of the Spirit, shining brightly in all directions. After a moments hesitation, she touched his wand. At once, a million images flooded her vision and a warmth spread through her arm, and by instinct she pulled away.

“Um...”

“Doesn't work too well?” Iggy asked. “Or maybe you're just overwhelmed.”

“Yeah, that.” said Penny. “It might be because it's late and my mind is getting tired, so I don't have my usual control over it.”

Iggy hummed to himself. “Let's hit the sack then. Most of my brothers already have. I'm sensing a big day tomorrow.” 

Penny rubbed her head, trying to regain focus. “How are they all doing?” Penny asked out of curiosity.

“Hm well, they've started the migration process.” began Iggy as they walked towards the elevator at the far end. “And they picked a great day, because the jet stream went vertical and sent tropical moisture straight into the Koopa Kingdom. Lots of Tornado's and general destruction that I've been expecting for a while now, people starting to show cases of hysteria and psychosis...what you would expect for an end of the world scenario. I feel bad for Ludwig because he has to deal with all of that. He's a great tree that needs to bend, but not too far.”

“You were saying one of them was having mental problems.” said Penny upon reaching the elevator. “Well, besides your sister. It came up during that meeting you were talking about.”

“Oh yeah, Larry.” said Iggy, walking aboard. “Let's just say his shell is collapsing due to the transformation of the planet. Not his physical shell mind you, but his emotional shell that he's hidden in since he was a toddler. He basically needs to reinvent himself because by the time the transformation is complete, all secrets will be out in the open. This goes for Roy too, he's changed a lot since Lemmy hit him. Kinda...opened up a circuit he thought he never had.” The elevator shot upwards into the higher floors of Erzembar where his retreat for the evening was located. 

“What about Ludwig?” Penny asked.

“He's going to be a dad soon.” Iggy announced.

“Really? In this mess?” Penny asked in disbelief. 

“Yeah, well...he thinks he should have a few 'out the door' in case he gets killed by the changes or otherwise.” commented Iggy. “I agree, not a good time for kids right now, but in his case he needs to solidify his position. Lemmy is next in line and doesn't want to be the next Earth King, so regardless this is going to be difficult for Ludwig. He's going to have even more mouths to feed.”

Penny sighed. “Politics.”

The doors opened and they walked into the hallway that led to Iggy's quarters. They were silent, each absorbed in their own thoughts, but at length Penny noticed Iggy's restlessness as he tapped his fingers on his leg.

“Is something happening tonight?” Penny asked, no longer able to contain her curiosity.

“Oh yes, definitely.” Iggy responded. “No doubt about it.” He sighed nervously, and it was clear to Penny that he wasn't going to tell the whole story without pestering him.

“Something to do with--”

“It involves the monarchs.” Iggy said, interrupting her. “Kylie's going to be rudely awakened for sure.”

“You're hiding something.” Penny said suspiciously.

Iggy merely looked at her. “Yes.”

“Why can't you tell me now?”

“It might change the outcome.” claimed Iggy. “I'll tell you tomorrow.”

Penny laughed. “Alright, fine. But I want a full explanation of what this is about.”

“Easily done, after it's done.” replied Iggy, pushing open the doors to his room. “But until then, I should prepare myself for that. The mass consciousness has been very depressive lately and I need to rejuvenate.” He headed for his bureau where he rummaged through its drawers. In the meantime, Penny decided to brush her teeth and wonder about what the heck Iggy was talking about. Living with him was strange as it was after they confessed to each other not too long ago. It seemed that because of his “job” as King of the Spirit, there were some things that were better off to not be said at all. He had already told her of Larry's relationship problems, not to mention a few of his siblings relationships that they have kept secret from each other. Penny knew that royalty was royalty: a world of intrigue, secrecy and lies. But if what Iggy said was true, that the planet was transforming...

“Wait, what did he mean by that?” Penny asked aloud, brushing her teeth. He had not talked about the Earth “transforming” before. Since nature already has its cyclical processes, she guessed that he meant it in a more metaphorical sense in relation to civilization. But she wouldn't know until tomorrow, the deadline she would make sure Iggy would keep. While some things she understood to keep quiet about, she was growing increasingly annoyed from being left in the dark as far as what Iggy was doing. Maybe his powers had made him more self absorbed? At least that's how she felt after touching the wand, something she was not ready for. In that case, she needed to ground him back to reality.

She spit into the odd looking sink and turned a water valve to wash it clean. Somehow, the complex had an intricate piping network of hot and cold water, but considering Erzembar's very existence she knew not to question it much. She remembered Iggy telling her about a kind of distillation system set up below the complex. Feeding water from desert aquifers into the room, it evaporated the water until it settled and condensed upon a slanted ceiling made of a cooler metal. The condensed water then flowed to the tip and dripped into a metallic bowl, which was piped underneath to various areas within Erzembar. One of her first lab experiments was testing the purity of the drinking water, which surprisingly came back with outstanding results. Penny now often wondered of the construction of the condenser, let alone trying to find a way down there. She needed to remember to talk to Iggy about that.

Leaving the bathroom, she walked back into Iggy's bedroom and found him laying down not on the bed but above it, floating in mid air with a number of small bright objects surrounding him, including one on his forehead. He was clearly unaware of her, with his eyes closed and muttering incomprehensible words under his breath. Penny wasn't sure what to do at first; she was well aware of his meditation practices and didn't like to disrupt him, but she didn't know how much control he had of himself at that moment. For all she knew, he could fall down if he was disturbed now.

“Are you sure about that?” she overheard Iggy say. He said something else, but his words were indecipherable. He was clearly talking to someone, which made her more hesitant.

Iggy suddenly waved at her without looking, forcing a smile from Penny as she waved back to him. More confident now, she walked to her bureau and changed into her pajamas, knowing Iggy wasn't looking.

“We'll be there.” Iggy said aloud, floating down back to his bed. Upon resting on it, Iggy opened his eyes and took off the crystal resting on his third eye. “But you might not remember.” he added.

“Remember what?” she asked, putting her night shirt on.

“What will happen tonight.” said Iggy, getting up and putting his stones away. “You're not a queen yet. Like I said, this is monarchs only.”

“I don't mind becoming one,” Penny began, putting her old clothes away, “I just don't feel ready right now, especially after seeing what I saw downstairs. There was so much information being transmitted that I don't know how the human mind could comprehend all of that at once.”

“You have to train your subconscious to handle it.” Iggy said, getting into his large bed. “And that takes a lot of time. You start with the easiest things, direct telepathic transmissions and address those. Once that becomes a habit, then you move on to more complicated things.”

“It sounds like you need to be self aware a lot of the time.” said Penny, climbing into bed. “Which you may be, but you're definitely not aware of what's in front of you.”

“I was aware.” Iggy said. “Now it's about balancing everything. And the more complex it gets the more difficult it becomes to balance it all out.” He suddenly took her hand. “Like right now. You're in front of me trying to figure out how the hell I work. I shouldn't ignore that.”

“It doesn't make you crazier than you already are.” said Penny, laying on his chest. “It makes you more intricate. That's how life works, you know. The more complicated things get, the more asleep we become.” Penny closed her eyes, content with that nugget of truth and wanting to rest her mind for the day.

“Interesting.” Iggy muttered, staring at the ceiling. Self awareness decreases with increasing complexity. It sure made more sense of the God problem for those that still believed in one. Iggy was never a fan of religion, but understood why it came about. It was one of his greatest headaches as the earth changes continued to progress: people asking their religious leaders about why God was doing such and such, if this was the apocalypse, if they were to be saved and so forth. He got those questions everyday and had already learned how to deal with them. It was all their minds could stand, having been programmed to live that reality. 

But Penny was right. Even though he was capable of complex feats of the mind, happiness was found in a more simpler life. Self awareness in simplicity. For once, feeling Penny's heart beating on his chest made Iggy come back down to Earth, enjoying a moment that he realized his younger self could only have dreamed about. Now that his dream was a reality, it was time to dream of something bigger. Closing his eyes, he smiled knowing that the next step of the awakening was about to begin.

* * *

The stars flew overhead, time distorted beyond perception. He blinked: this was not the reality that he knew. Looking down, he saw the world below his feet: beautiful yet ravaged, not unlike the divine in greedy hands. Greedy, childish hands. But this was the world, and he was looking at it. He was looking at it!

“Why am I conscious?” Larry asked aloud, not sure as to what was happening. He knew he was dreaming inside of his dream: no spacecraft in orbit above the world remained viable to use. And yet he realized that he was in none: looking around him, he was in space with no metal bars or reinforced glass to protect him. He was simply in space with the world below his feet. What an odd dream.

Turning around towards the sun, Larry saw the Great Destroyer up close, the first time since the Galaxy crashed months ago. The sight made him reminisce those days of bliss, forced if it was. Except now the monster was seen being trailed by a number of moons and debris on its backside, forming a rocky tail that seemed to stretch towards the sun. It was much closer now.

But there was a flash of light and Larry was sent soaring into the stars, his home zooming away under him. At this point, he knew he was probably not dreaming, through he felt more surreal than he normally would during his awakened state. The stars flew by him, increasing in intensity until their light encompassed his vision. Then, there was darkness.

Larry blinked, his surroundings changed: his feet now rested on a circular metallic plate with another like it above him. Though his view of space was otherwise unobstructed, he could not tell where he was going or who was bringing him there. “Yeah, who even had this sort of tech?” Larry pondered this, knowing the Galaxy to be a thing of the past now. Was this the Naru? No, Larry remembered Iggy's tale about them, as well as the spirits of Genlic mentioning a ban against them ever visiting the planet as long as Koopa's were around. 

“Hmm?”

Larry suddenly turned and found his brother Ludwig to his right taking in the new surroundings with a sleepy expression. “I did not realize the Gelanese had such a spell. Only a small amount was ingested...” He turned to Larry. “So...I presume this is not any dream state related to delta wave activity, given my conscious awareness?”

“Doubt it.” said Larry. “We're being taken somewhere, by someone but I have no idea who.”

“This craft is certainly not of my construction.” commented Ludwig, shuffling the floor with his foot. “I was also not aware of any invisible barrier that protects one from the vacuum of space. We are more than likely dealing with an intelligent species not native to our world.” He shuffled his foot again. “What is this substance?” Taking what appeared to be a pen from his pocket, he flipped out a magnifying glass from it and stared at the floor, while Larry rolled his eyes, unsurprised.

“Is this mineral even on our planet?” he muttered to himself. He was too distracted to notice his wife, Queen Kylie appearing in front of him with a dazed expression.

“Why am I flying in space right now?” she asked no one in particular.

“It appears we shall be meeting extraterrestrial visitors.” Ludwig answered, too engrossed to even look up. “Besides their peculiar technology, I am unaware of any particular reason for the visitation, aside from our current predicament.”

“Come on Ludwig.” said Larry. “You've seen aliens before under the cover-up. You probably know something about this, out of all people.”

Ludwig sighed, finally getting up. “It is true the cover-up over the alien presence has been nullified with the Naru announcement.” he said. “Very well, although I presume you have guessed at our neighbors given the information your person has access to. Aside from the Naru, there exist a number of races visiting the planet currently, however due to the rule of non-interaction of developing worlds they are not allowed to show their faces, with small exceptions given to said leadership. I was one such exception at the time.”

“Aren't there thousands visiting now?” Kylie asked.

“Indeed.” said Ludwig. “Though under strict orders to operate in the background.”

“Then why have I not seen a single one up until now?” Larry questioned.

“Because people like to forget things.” said a materializing Iggy, appearing right next to Kylie. “Some of the footage you've come across is actually real, but the mind likes to forget things.”

“You didn't answer my question.” Larry claimed. 

“I did.” countered Iggy. “You've seen them before, but those memories are in your subconscious and screened over. Conscious contact is not allowed except for world leaders. We are those leaders now, and we are about to meet them.”

“As I expected.” said Ludwig. “Though our former group has since disbanded, it seems the concept has carried forward to the next generation. I presume we will be meeting the inheritors?”

“Yup.” Iggy nodded. The stars suddenly stopping moving, and a kind of circular mothership appeared quickly moving towards them. “Keep your eyes & ears open Larry.” Iggy thought. “I was stunned when I first heard this back when the fight was over.”

“You don't have to tell me this was another cover-up.” Larry thought back, the ship making contact with their pod. “I've guessed this since the Galaxy.”

“The news they will present will stun you, is what I'm saying.” Iggy thought back. Their surroundings solidified, replaced by metal walls with no windows. A soft white light surrounded them, until their reality suddenly flashed and the light faded as quickly as it came. They now found themselves in a spacious room with cushioned circular seats dotting the area. A fountain of what appeared to be mercury was cut into a notch in the left wall, flowing upwards mimicking objects as it went. In the center was a lighted pillar with four seats encompassing, each equally distant from the other,.

Larry spotted a familiar shape on the other side of the room. “Lemmy?” he blurted aloud, but the figure passed through an archway and was gone. He was a little surprised he didn't think of Lemmy earlier, but given the current situation he didn't blame himself.

“Greetings.” came a voice inside of his head. “Please make yourself comfortable.” said another. A number of small hominid beings entered the room from various passages, and to Larry they seemed sickly with their gray scaly skin and the way they walked towards their seats in a slow, deliberate manner. They seemed reptilian in origin, with their large oval eyes fixed to the sides of their skull.

The four monarchs sat themselves down, mingling with the rest of the visitors. Larry was cautious however, wondering what their intent was.

“We do not intend to harm you.” said a similar voice in his mind, seemingly reading it. And it seemed they possessed no vocal cords: everything was telepathic so far. 

“We wish to inform you of your planet's current plight.” It seemed each sentence was answered by a different member of the species, similar to the Blood monarchs inside Genlic. “Due to the cover-up that has recently been broken in part due to the announcements inside the Koopa Kingdom, much of the world has been unaware of the greater problem facing them. Even with the recent revelation of Naru, much of the populace will not feel the need to prepare for the worst.”

“Why?” Kylie thought.

“Complacency.” one responded. “Which itself is based upon the fear of the unknown. For many, ignorance is the sure way to happiness, a sign that they are unable to handle such information without covering themselves behind denial. Indeed, denial has already become rampant, even with the recent vacation of the Koopa Kingdom towards its new location. Many that have stayed behind still believe their lives will be rebuilt.” 

There was a silence. “We apologize, we should introduce ourselves. We are the Kappur, one of the beneficiaries of your growing race. As we stated, we are here due to your planet's predicament with the passing traveler Naru and the effects it will cause on all who dwell upon your world. We have been chosen for this mission by the Galactic Council, who oversees all happenings within our Galaxy. We are here to inform the races of your world of the pending disaster about to take place, with most being unaware. Even with the announcement, the word must now spread to other kingdoms and the disasters have begun to increase. Aside from your establishments giving the announcement, we reply to The Call and counsel those souls who desire to know more of their current predicaments. 

“The Call, this is asking for alien assistance.” said Iggy as a matter of fact.

“Yes, within the rules allotted to us.” they replied. “For instance, due to the rule of no contact, we are not allowed to communicate with 3rd dimensional lifeforms consciously. There are exceptions, the main being if said life form asks for consul due to giving The Call, in which we answer and direct the spirit accordingly. Then, depending upon the entity, we may establish conscious contact through other means. You have the ability to consciously contact ourselves due to your inheritance created by the Reigning 13.”

“The individuals of first contact.” Ludwig thought. “This includes our father, the Mario Brothers and many prominent persons who saw fit to arrest the knowledge that was gleaned upon that first meeting. They were the bona fide leaders of the Galaxy, but I only know of their existence by rumor. I would assume that the group has since dispersed, given what has occurred until now.”

“Indeed, they have officially disbanded,” The Kappur replied, “yet much of their former power remains in various circles of the world. These people are bureaucrats, senators and military once under the reigning command of Bowser Koopa who have taken advantage of his dictatorship to gain some of their own piece of pie, so to speak. Even after his death, many of these same people still hold circles of power and attempt to gain footholds in small territories to establish a mimicry of what your father had done. These spirits who have been informed of the pending pole shift seek to profit from it as much as possible with well equipped bunkers, and a slave class that they anticipate to use in the aftermath. They are to be avoided if your kingdom wishes to continue on its present course. 

“This leads into our next prediction, in that any kingdom that you wish to establish at this time will more than likely not last through the shift.”

“What?” Ludwig simply thought.

“As you have currently seen King of the Earth, your planet's infrastructure is fragile to the incoming affects of Naru.” they said. “Without which, civilization begins to break down. It is understood that you intend to pack your bags with the kingdom inside it, only to unfurl it in a more suitable location following the pole shift. Unfortunately it is not that simple as the public have minds of their own. Due to the lies of your father's administration, the public has become distrustful of the government despite the help they are now receiving under your administration. Trust will be a constant issue. Paper money is now considered worthless with the lack of a proper infrastructure to support business flow. As a result, goods and services have halted and the lifestyle many once had, that of instant gratification, has ceased. Combined with the inability to believe what is occurring along with such traumatic events, we have predicted that about 47% of all survivors of the pole shift will go insane.”

Ludwig frowned, and it was clear to him that he had overestimated his fellow beings. “That is unfortunate.”

“We advise not to rely on the continuation of typical governmental body functions,” the Kappur continued. “as the people will form groups with each other, and take care of themselves especially if they are of a service to others orientation.”

“Service to others orientation.” Iggy echoed. “And that is what?”

“The spiritual orientations are one of two directions the spirit must take past the 3rd dimension.” they said. “They are the service to self and service to others. The lesson of the 3rd dimension is for the spirit to decide its orientation. The service to self in essence is a child who refuses to grow, establishing pecking orders in their peer groups and does whatever is necessary to obtain absolute power. Though they have a tendency to sweet talk attempt to convince others of their schemes, they are not concerned about them, only themselves. They lack empathy, which makes them uncomfortable. Empathy and acting on empathy is a great example of a spirit leaning towards the service to others orientation, which is not about personal gain over the suffering of others. In order to qualify for this orientation, one must be thinking of others at least 50% of the time. This must be a consistent effort proven by action throughout the spirit's lifetimes. On average, it takes well over 1,000 incarnations to decide the orientation of the spirit. There are of course spirits which develop extremely quickly, perhaps only a few hundred lifetimes to determine while other spirits hardly develop at all. Many of the latter are service to self oriented spirits: they refuse to develop further.”

“So you're saying all of experience is a gigantic lesson to determine the orientation of the spirit?” asked Iggy.

“Precisely. This is the nature of the 3rd dimension. At this time, your world has been selected to be a world inhabited by those in the service to others orientation. The transformation into the 4th dimension has already begun and this is one reason why there has been so many upsets with the selfish on the surface. At this time there are thousands of other lifeforms who have volunteered to assist in the planets transformation. It is no coincidence that Bowser's self serving government has fallen along with the power behind it, the UmNaru. They were largely responsible for many of your races atrocities, controlling others like puppets to further their own agenda's. Their defeat is considered to be an opening to the Galactic Council to announce the presence of Naru to the rest of the population, which has since occurred.”

“What if the announcement never happened?” Larry suddenly thought.

“This was our original expectation.” claimed the Kappur. “The cover-up in the past had a strong foothold over the governments of your world and its break up was considered improbable at the time. As a result, we predicted that the disasters would befall the planet with most not understanding what was happening to them. Due to this lack of preparation, we predicted approximately 90% of all intelligent species would be wiped out during the pole shift.”

“90%?!” they all thought aloud.

“Yes. This includes death due to starvation, disease and the inability to sustain one's self after such a disaster. In other words, shock. This also includes the insanity that will plague much of the world due to such an event. Though the announcement has since occurred, our prediction still stands. More will likely prepare for their survival, but fewer will understand what is truly needed to live in a post-pole shift environment. The stockpiling of goods is only a short term solution. True self sustainability will be needed. This includes the ability to save seed and garden, water purification, the ability to be mobile amongst other things. Stores of canned goods will run out, and those believing that all will return to normal after the shift will in for a rude awakening. This is another reason why government will simply not exist following the shift. People will have much on their plates.”

There was silence for a moment as the Koopalings were absorbed in their own thoughts. “I have to try and conjure something up.” relayed Iggy. “People need something to believe in. Already their religions are failing to explain what they've been seeing. They need something to keep them going, keep them moving.”

“Maybe that's why so many people stayed behind after we set out.” Kylie mentioned.

“It is.” said Iggy, being able to see their thoughts clearly. “They believe they will be saved by some omnipresent being.”

“This will not occur.” the Kappur warned. “We are not allowed to interfere with man's spiritual progress, and rescue from disaster is one such example. Disasters bring opportunities to learn lessons set out during a spirit's incarnations, forcing the spirit to make decisions. Evolution comes from such hard choices and to rescue one from disaster would void any such potential. The sole exception is the rescue of highly service to other individuals, in order to relocate them to their loved ones or to a place where they are needed. These are few. “The mind does not want to consider itself in such uncertain dangers, and goes for the more comfortable opt out: being rescued. You must rely on your own selves in order to survive.” 

“Too bad not everyone is going to believe that.” mentioned Larry. There was another silence after that, and none of the Koopalings knew what to say. Larry, feeling guilty of said silence, broke it. “If their beliefs will not come true, then what would comfort them? They will need something to live for. After it's all said and done, they need something to keep them going. I'm kind of repeating what Iggy said, but unless they become motivated to survive, their broken beliefs may paralyze them to death. So what is there to believe in? If people learned this, I would bet a good number would choose to die with the waves,”

The Kappur looked at each other. “We have been assigned to be the chosen race for your planet by the Galactic Council due to our nearly identical blood types. Your races have been scheduled to be phased out of existence due to a number of reasons, including selfishness, lack of regard to your environment, the problem of denial and the tendency to lean towards the suggestions of the service to self, thus tipping the balance on your planet. The Koopa race shall be phased out approximately 100 years after the pole shift.”

“What is this?” Larry argued.

“The incarnate life form shall be replaced with a hybrid race developed by ourselves.” responded the Kappur. “They are a combination of us as well as yourselves, choosing the best traits from both races to create a new species that is ideal for 4th dimensional development. As it stands currently, your race is not suitable for the 4th dimension due to a lack of brain capacity. The time was chosen now due to the anticipated die off following the pole shift. The new hybrid body contains a greater intelligence, longer life span while retaining empathy and the sexual drive, something which we lack.”

“So this race is going to take our place?” Larry asked.

“Correct.” they confirmed. “Neither the Koopa's, Mushrooms nor the Yoshi's are suitable for the 4th dimension and are to be phased out. This is the rule of the Galactic Council. The hybrids will be incarnated by ourselves, the Kappur and highly service to other spirits from your race as well. Those spirits who have not decided their orientation will be sent to another world where they can continue their deliberations. Many who have come into contact with us have interest in these new hybrid bodies and greatly desire them. However, it is their choices and actions that will determine the final outcome.”

“So let me get this straight...” Larry began. “...people are being forced to make a decision between two spiritual orientations as the planet is going to the 4th dimension. Those who don't are moving to a new planet? What is this planet?”

“It is a water world.” they stated. “It currently houses spirits from all over the Galaxy who have yet to decide their spiritual orientation and can continue their lessons there. The life form is a water creature, which affords greater sensitivity to one's environment.”

“And we don't have a choice in this?” Larry thought.

“Correct.”

“Why not? Isn't this our planet to live on?” Larry argued.

“Compared to the whole universe, you are but children learning to grow.” they bluntly replied. “Children do not make the decisions of the world around them. That is the job of the Galactic Council. There is a rule that states that the races of your planet are not allowed to travel beyond your star system and for good reason. 3rd dimensional entities are not yet mature enough for interstellar travel.”

Larry growled at that, but with nothing else to counter them merely sighed in his frustration.

“We will be in constant contact with the leaders of your world, including yourselves.” the Kappur concluded. “Despite not being members of the Reigning 13, we believe introducing ourselves to the current generation of leaders to be the next logical step. The pole shift is advancing to the next stage. We will be in constant contact with your selves, and will be available if you require consoling with appropriate matters. But for now, we must send you back to continue your lessons.”

“So we are on our own...” Larry trailed off, looking out the window.

“Not alone, but with galactic friends willing to help you with your lessons. While we are not allowed to interfere with them or change them, we can help guide you towards a correct outcome and thus help you learn the lesson required. As we already stated, we are not allowed to interfere with your spiritual development. This includes stopping hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes and the like as these are natural events. It is from these episodes that one may grow into a chosen orientation.” There was a pause. “We believe that is enough information to deliberate on for now, and we will be available for further meetings should the need arise. Until then.”

With that, a darkness seemed to close around the Koopalings until it filled their entire vision and they knew no more.


	34. Migration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Koopalings continue their migration of the Koopa Kingdom through the mountains to their east, only to find a variety of challenges awaiting them. Meanwhile, Luigi successfully enters the Koopa Kingdom at night on his way to reunite with his love, Princess Daisy.

Raindrops plopped upon the skins of his tent as Morton stirred from sleep. Indeed, he was comfortable in his current position: on his back wrapped in fur blankets trying to keep his eyes closed. But the sound of rain kept him awake and he reluctantly turned onto his side, only to see something under the curtain that made up his doorway: a small river of water rushing by.

Morton grumbled, forcing himself awake at the sight. The rest of his tent looked dry, but curiosity got the best of him. With a growl he pushed his blankets aside and got up, walking towards his shell which lay in the corner. After putting it on, he threw back the curtain and looked outside to find something that startled him: a river that seemed to flow from the Koopa Crags through the camp that was set up the night before. It was a moment before his sleepy brain finally made the connection: that was no ordinary river, that was the Koopahari Pass!

“What?!” he shouted, and immediately headed back into his tent to grab his supplies, including his radio. After putting on a large raincoat, he made his way out of his tent and into the pouring rain, which obscured his view of the surrounding countryside. However, he was able to see a large group of people near the road-turned-river in some kind of heated debate. Walking closer, he caught sight of Ludwig von Koopa at the head of the pack, wearing a large round coat that resembled more of a poncho than any sort of jacket, with a large hood to cover his famous hairstyle. He was surrounded people of all types, including mechanics, workers and richly dressed businessmen.

“They would slide right down the hill!” said one Koopa dressed in a fancy business suit. “Doesn't matter what's in front of it!”

“The tanks will be more than sufficient to divert the water flow.” argued Ludwig. “By using the blade affixed to the front of the tanks, the water will be diverted in multiple directions, mainly the sides parallel to the vehicles allowing the lighter transports to follow behind without worrying about water flow.”

“That's if the tanks can even roll up that hill under that much pressure.” said another Koopa Troopa. 

“They should stand that.” said a mechanic, looking at the road. “Blades weren't meant to push water, but I wasn't meant to do a lot of things either. What I'm more worried about is the force of that water. It's coming down there at a good click, so if anything it's going to shoot right up into the air.”

“Correct.” said Ludwig. “And due to the incline of the slope which is approximately 53 degrees and the construction of the blades, water will shoot upwards and due to gravity, will drop ahead of the tank as well as behind the tank due to said slope inclination. The amount dispersed behind the tank line is estimated by my person to be of a larger quantity than that ahead of the line, and thus is expected to land just ahead of the 2nd tank line which will divert the water again. In essence, with all tank lines in place and functioning, one may think of said plan to be like a wave function as the water flows upwards then back to the Earth again in cyclic motion.

“Having said this, the main bulk of the party will ride directly behind these tank lines, with the water launching directly over them and landing harmlessly behind their vehicles. We shall use both lanes of the highway to accommodate this of course and any supplies deemed unnecessary for survival must be left behind in order to lighten the load. Any questions?”

Despite being unable to fully grasp Ludwig's mathematical concepts, Morton got the gist of his plan. 

“Your majesty, we have reports of riots in Koopa City proper.” said one Koopa with a head interface. “They have begun to loot the areas damaged by yesterday's tornado outbreak. But it seems they are protesting for the lack of government after our withdrawal. They claim that they have been abandoned.”

Ludwig snorted almost immediately. “I have made my intentions clear during my prior pole shift announcement. Citizens are free to participate in the kingdom relocation plan now taking place, and a provisional government has been set up to administer what remains of these lands. Do they intend to have their hands held through every disaster? How preposterous!”

“I think we should move now before those riots have a chance of reaching us.” said a Koopa with a heavy overcoat and many around him seemed to be in agreement.

“If they find out where our shelters are going to be, then we're done for.” said another in similar dress. “We should get going. I'm going to pack my things.” he went off.

“Might as well.” The group dispersed in different directions, with many seemingly making up their own minds. Ludwig watched them leave his company with a suspicious glance, not at all liking their current attitude. 

“I'll stay at the head of the pack.” said Morton, sensing Ludwig's discomfort.

“I do not like this.” Ludwig muttered to himself. “My father's bureaucracy seemingly has a life of its own. The inability to respect and acknowledge authority is a sure sign of betrayal.” He turned to his younger brother. “Morton, I must ask of you an important favor. You will receive a transmission during our march upon the Koopahari pass. Immediately forward this to Lemuel without delay, and he will distribute the message to the appropriate parties.”

“Do I need to know what this is?” Morton asked.

“No.” Ludwig replied. “In fact, it is best that you do not know as we will be watched from this point forward. Access to my person must be kept restricted. Hence, Lemuel shall do the heavy work.”

“Gotcha.” replied Morton, looking around him. They seemed to be busy packing their camps, but Morton noticed a smaller Koopa watching them on from a good distance. After refocusing his eyes, he saw it was Lemmy, who promptly turned away upon being spotted. 

“I have a plan, do not worry.” said Ludwig. “Let us begin the next stage.”

So the camp packed itself away back into the vehicles in which they came, and while the attitudes of some may have leaked the intentions of some groups, they still seemed glued together and intent on finishing what Ludwig had begun. Soon the vehicles were in place: all of the tanks that had cleared the city of debris in the past day were lined up towards the entrance of the Koopahari Pass. Behind two tanks were two pairs of smaller vehicles and this pattern followed down the line until Ludwig's secret location somewhere in the caravan. But Morton was at the head inside one of the tanks in the front, ready to continue with the journey. Considering all that has happened so far, he knew he had to assert his authority a little more if he didn't want to be pushed around like Ludwig.

“All right, move out!” Morton said into a radio, then sending a call signal to Ludwig. After receiving one in response, Morton put his foot on the gas and the first line of tanks went off towards the mountain pass, now resembling a river as water gushed down from the mountains above. The tanks came to the water flow and lowered their blades to nearly ground level, successfully diverting the water to the sides of the tank line. Feeling confident, Morton pushed forward onto the roadway, lowering the blade to the pavement. As the tanks rolled uphill, the water rose and spewed upwards from the top of the blade, sending streams of water flowing for many feet behind it. At once, two jeeps pulled up from the sides of the tanks and maneuvered themselves to practically tailgate them, trying to avoid water now splashing behind him. It appeared that Ludwig's strategy was working, as the next pair of tanks moved into position and lowered their blades in like fashion, having the water gush upwards into the air duplicating the first row. 

Eventually the entire caravan moved like this up the mountain, successfully, diverting the water flow and pushing their way into the western Koopa Crags. They traveled for well over an hour into the mountains and Morton noticed the “river” ease its flow as they ascended the heights. They passed into a low level cloud layer and their visibility became considerably reduced. Just as Morton pondered on what to do next, he heard strange noises emit from his radio. After a minute of this, they died down.

“That is the transmission.” relayed Ludwig. “Please send this to Lemmy.” Morton assumed that Lemmy would be able to decrypt the message o his end, so with the message stored in his radio, he punched in the wavelength for Lemmy's radio and pressed send. Morton had no idea what Ludwig intended to do with the rich elite, but he hoped that something would be done with them soon.

At length, the slope leveled out signaling that they have reached the top of the pass. Cloud surrounded them and they otherwise had no indicators as to their position. The water flow has slowed to a trickle and Morton raised the blade of his tank no longer seeing the need to use it. But he also had another problem

“I would raise your blades once you get up here.” Morton relayed through his radio. “The water is barely a trickle, but there is a good amount of mud on the road. We can get over it, it's not that high but it looks like landslides have happened up here so keep your eyes out.”

“Affirmative.” called one commander. Indeed, from what visibility Morton had he could see the steep incline on his right had tumbled recently, filling the road with dirt. Fortunately, aside from one large bolder the road was still passable due to the tanks running over it, compacting the mud enough for the other lighter vehicles to traverse.

However, Morton came across a large problem that literally crept up on him. The next thing he saw made him slam on his brakes, grinding the tank to a halt. He climbed out of his tank and looked at the massive obstacle before him. The line behind him did the same caterpillar effect he had seen a day earlier. 

“What is the issue?” came Ludwig's voice over the radio.

“Sinkhole.” Morton replied. “Massive sinkhole, it's got to be at least 50 feet across, maybe 150 feet deep. It takes up the entire road.”

Ludwig grunted. “I shall teleport there myself.” Within a few moments, Ludwig appeared besides Morton's tank in a dark blue flash, looking at the sight before him. He walked over to the hole and seemed to study it carefully. Other people came out of their vehicles to see the problem for themselves and soon there was a commotion as they talked amongst each other.

“There's no way we're getting over that.” said one. “I might as well turn back. I should have taken the sea route.”

“Yeah, why didn't we do that?” asked another fancy Koopa with a snobbish expression.

“There's not enough space on the ships for what we need to bring.” said a Koopa in Ludwig's cabinet. “We'd have to make multiple trips and that would take more time, plus the fuel supplies were cut off and we would run out for the cargo hull's. This was the fastest way.”

“Well, now we've hit a dead end.” said the Koopa in the overcoat. “I think I'll turn back with that other guy.”

“And how do you propose to do that?” Ludwig suddenly asked, turning around. “Our entire caravan takes up the width of the road due to the number of migrants currently in the company. Do you expect everyone to turn back and drive through the raging rapids behind us so you can personally reverse your course down the pass?” 

The Koopa said nothing, but just looked at the caravan behind him. 

“I am not Bowser Koopa.” Ludwig stated, “Nor will I ever be. I will not allow former cabinet members to influence the agenda already laid out and risk the lives of those who have decided to partake on this journey. There is a solution to this issue, but this will require cooperation from all involved.”

“You know,” began the Koopa, “We made your Kingdom the way it was. Built it from the ground up into the Empire that it became and your father gave us so much funding for that effort. We built schools, hospitals, various corporations for a number of sectors and we spread the culture of the Koopa Empire throughout the globe. Now? It's all destroyed thanks to your little war on the UmNaru, but I decided “Hey, maybe I'll get compensated for it.” You call this compensation?”

“Who said I was required to compensate for your loss if the funding enactment was from the previous administration?” Ludwig asked. “The end of the world means the end of civilization as it is currently known.”

“Hah!” The Koopa laughed. “The shift won't kill everybody. It'll kill a lot of people, sure. But your kingdom...excuse me, your dad's kingdom will go on as it has done so before. The kingdom is run by corporations, I'm sure you're aware of the many lobbyist that we had back in the senate. And trust me when I say, whatever we want, we will get. It doesn't matter who you are. Do you know how many companies have pulled your father's strings, bribing him just to have their way?”

“No I don't, please do tell.” Ludwig said sarcastically.

“This many.” The Koopa suddenly pulled out a wand and aimed for Ludwig's chest, but the Koopaling had the greater speed and punched the Koopa in the gut sending him flying through the air, until he hit the rocky cliff face behind him and fell to the ground. A number of people unsheathed a number of weapons then, mostly of fashionable dress and Ludwig knew he was walking on edge.

“Hem!” Ludwig ordered, and immediately the military branded their weapons and aimed for the bureaucrats attempting to take advantage of the situation. They froze upon sight of Ludwig's insignia appearing everywhere and many re-concealed their weapons in response. But to Ludwig, the damage was done and there was no going back for these class of citizens.

“The Koopa has been killed sir.” said one soldier.

“What a pity.” Ludwig said sarcastically. “When you travel in my company you are offered full protection of my consortium, that being not only the army of the Kingdom but my own army and those of my siblings. Your selfish intentions are greatly outnumbered by the selfless ambitions of those who wish to create a kingdom without the lies and deceptions you so gracefully demonstrated. I do not like to repeat my statements but it seems to be required, so I shall say this again: I am not Bowser Koopa, and neither is this Bowser's administration. If any of you attempt to plot against me again, I will personally kill you.” He looked at them, but no response came. “Bind their hands. Arrest them for treason.”

“This is not the last of us!” one of them shouted. “We will have what we want, with you involved or not.”

“What I offer is a privilege, not a right.” said Ludwig. “You will soon find that maintaining your extravagant lifestyle will become more difficult. Then again, denial works in various ways and that fact may not be well understood to your person. Throw them into the last unarmed tank.”

A large number of bureaucrats were arrested and thrown into the last tank at the end of the caravan, which was simply a stock vehicle used for miscellaneous items. Some people actually clapped at the sight, mainly the commoners who had long been taken advantage of by such types. Their applause encouraged others not to do the same thing the corpse on the side of the road just did.

After that spectacle, Morton climbed out of his tank and approached Ludwig. “So that drama aside, how are we going to cross this thing?”

“It will take some work.” Ludwig admitted. “I have brought with me equipment for such a case, as I had imagined many scenarios and prepared accordingly before departure. A sinkhole of this magnitude will require the the use of two metal tracks to the bear the vehicles across. These tracks must not be supported by the ground underneath, considering the unknown condition of the underground interior and the possibility of further soil encroachment. Instead, we are lucky to be surrounded by a rock cliff face on either side of our persons, which shall act as the support instead. It is in constructing these supports that I will require assistance.”

“Those tanks wont be able to cross this beast, metal or not.” Morton mentioned.

“Which leads to my next point.” said Ludwig. “The reinforced steel will be enough to support the weight of lighter vehicles, but not for the bladed tanks. As a result, the tanks must be left behind sitting as they are now, and we shall siphon the fuel inside of them using previously used fuel containers in order to increase our store for the other vehicles. As for those arrested, they are to return to the Old Kingdom with a handful of soldiers, of which I am aware of a few who do wish to return.”

With a few commands, a group of people began to unload one of the cargo trucks and piece together two strips of thick metal. Using welding equipment originally intended for vehicle repairs, they welded the steel together and placed them on the ground in two long rows. Others were climbing the rock faces on either side, boring holes into the rock. They were later handed long support beams cut to specific dimensions, and these were installed perpendicular to the tracks that were now being pushed across the sinkhole. Once fully pushed to the other side with many feet to spare, the support beams were welded onto the tracks by a few workers walking on them, confident of their strength. Soon, the track was completed, only taking a little more than an hour. With no less than 12 supports above and below the tracks, Morton felt a little more confident but needed to see it in action before he could make his final determination.

“Let the jeep go first!” he called out, with Ludwig nodding in approval. A military style jeep rode up and carefully aligned its tires to the tracks before beginning its journey across the hole. Some of the support beams made a few snapping noises under the stress, but otherwise the ride was without issue as the jeep successfully made it to the other side of the hole. A few people cheered on the other end, glad to see their work pay off. Soon much of the caravan was crossing the gap, one vehicle at a time. Other than a few people reinforcing some of the support beams, the operation was successful thus far. 

In the meantime, Ludwig ordered the fuel in the tanks to be siphoned into empty storage containers and the occupants to be placed in vacant positions in other lighter vehicles. Many had an adverse reaction to this, arguing that without such strength as an ally, it may encourage others to revolt.

“This order does not stem from any ideal.” Ludwig claimed. “This stems from simple physics. It is impossible for our heavier vehicles to cross our newly constructed track-way without disaster, and as such these vehicles must be left behind. In order to prevent any malicious party from gaining control of such a force, all fuel currently stored within is being siphoned into spent fuel containers as I have previously specified. If all containers are filled, then allow the fuel to flow out of the vehicle and onto the ground. They shall be left here, unusable. If possible, please drain the oil as well to ensure their permanent immovability.” Despite the explanation, the artillery still had a fit over the new orders but with some persuasion Ludwig allowed them to keep a few of the weapons that came with the tanks, as long as they made it across the bridge.

Soon, all of the vehicles made it across the tracks save for the tanks and other heavier vehicles left behind. Morton could see a single tank turning around and heading the other way down the road. Although the UmNaru were now dead, many of their servants were left behind, at least those with enough good in them to have not vaporized during the God's Wrath spell. But he also knew that wasn't the end of them and they would probably keep themselves low while in the majesty's presence. In time, they would probably try to off him again and Morton wondered if Ludwig could see this given his personality. Once they were holed up in Ludwig's Castle, he could easily be at their mercy. Morton really felt bad for Kylie who was caught up in all of this and was pregnant on top of it. If that was a part of the plan, then he was not too sure of its effectiveness. Regardless, attacking him now was in poor taste.

In time the caravan set out again, resuming the journey. The road was relatively flat for some time, being in the heights of the range and thankfully was free from any other sinkholes. At length, the road started to descend with a shallow layer of mud covering the road, indicating water runoff as seen earlier that morning. They descended below the cloud layer and found the sun already moving across the western sphere, but was accompanied by smaller orbs light around its disc. From what Morton knew, they were some of the many moons in the tail of Naru, sunlight being reflected back towards their planet. The beast itself was lost somewhere in the sun's gaze...at least to the Koopa eye.

The trail leveled out for a bit and a view of the land below became more prominent. The Koopai appeared to be a green and lush valley with a large lake seen further in the distance. The arctic sea was barely seen far to the northwest as a thin line of water along the horizon. Along side it, the snowy north was seen to the right stretching to the tip of the crags, Lemmy Koopa's pathway home. To the left, the greens transitioned to browns as the river valley blended with the deserts of the Koopahari, Iggy Koopa's realm. Only a few towns could be seen in the valley at that height, proxy settlements of the former Koopa Kingdom that had been informed of the King's intentions. 

Morton again wondered how easy it would be to settle there, given that they were essentially losing their land for the new Koopa Kingdom. Ludwig probably thought of it as an easy transition, but Lemmy certainly knew better. Having been quiet for most of the journey due to concealing his presence, he felt that his help would be most needed in the Koopai, especially when the settling was to take place before his departure back home. But at the same time, Lemmy knew that his older brother was in a precarious position, essentially painting a bullseye wherever he went especially after what happened a few hours prior. Ludwig probably thought that holing himself up in his cozy little castle would prevent any sort of attempts against his life, being inside his cocoon of safety. He had no idea that he was walking into a nightmare and Lemmy felt that he needed to somehow stem this tide against him. As a result, he felt divided, unsure as to where he would be needed most. 

Side roads began to appear left and right, signaling the re-entering of civilization. The first road Ludwig knew to be the passage to the port of Kearsmoth, located directly to their South on the edge of the Crags. The road was paved but not well maintained, and indeed few people went down that way as the caravan crossed it. It was ideal for traveling by sea across the world, but for little else. They passed by a few paved roads in this manner, but most were dirt roads with some of them being unmarked. Morton wondered if this was how Ludwig had hidden his castle the whole time.

At length, the road descended sharply for a short time before abruptly coming to a fork. The left road continued to travel downwards into the Koopai where it could be seen traveling into the southern valley with other roads branching off of it, before turning further left into the desert and was lost. The right road however seemed to veer off northwards, hugging the Crags as it went with little deviation in direction. 

Morton's radio cackled to life. “Unfortunately, we have reached our departure point.” relayed Ludwig. “Here, the leadership shall exchange hands. Those seeking asylum with my company and have registered with my administration shall accompany my company through the northern passes of the Crags to my secret stronghold. However, the great majority now traveling shall instead accompany Crown prince Lemuel and Prince Morton into the Koopai valley, where the new Kingdom shall be established. In time, I will join you all within my new stronghold, but after the trade of blows witnessed earlier, it may be some time before this will be done. I shall be in contact with you through my brothers to inform you of my situation as it progresses. Until then, may the Koopa race live into eternity.”

Lemmy frowned. He really didn't want to hear that. “You know you're walking into a trap, right?” Lemmy asked on their private frequency.

“That is my intention.” replied Ludwig. “Verily, after the warnings I have received of the intentions of others, I have decided to let such individuals come to my person, thus lessening the burden upon your shoulders. Do not fret over my situation Lemuel as this was my own fate to begin with. I must complete what I have begun, not let the UmNaru's henchmen take control of my behemoth. You are in an excellent position to become a great leader of our future, despite your current plans otherwise. I highly advise to watch over Morton's progress and aide him whenever possible.”

Lemmy, knowing Morton would probably look up to him again, knew otherwise. Even then, Ludwig was still pushing him into a role he was never comfortable with. However, the stakes were rising higher now and Lemmy began to realize that to do nothing about it would make him appear irresponsible. History was moving against his wishes and fighting that wasn't the wisest thing to do.

“Then I'll leave you to your fate.” Lemmy said, already setting his course in advance.

“I do hope I shall arise from the inevitable conflicts ahead.” said Ludwig. “As my progeny depends on it. However, if the worst case scenario occurs then I trust you know what to do. This is an obligation that must be met regardless of personal desires, and such times have a greater calling for such personal sacrifice. I have carried much of the weight thus far and so have your brothers. It is all I ask, to live up to your forefathers.”

Lemmy sighed. “I'm going with Morton to help him out.” said Lemmy. “If I don't hear from you before I take off, then I'll send a team to check up on you.”

“That is fine,” said Ludwig. “In any case, we must depart and head to better areas for encampment as this location is less than ideal. I do wish you and Morton luck on your endeavors and hope to see you again soon.”

The radio fizzled off. Lemmy still had a bad feeling about all of this, but now agreed that his presence in the Koopai would be more important in terms of the future. Ludwig's forces were already seen turning onto the right road and starting to travel down it. Lemmy switched to a public frequency.

“Hi everybody.” he began. “Yes, this Is Lemmy and yes I'm here. You haven't seen me too much because I'm up above you, cloaked and riding in my own ship. You know, I had a funny feeling something was going to happen to the King, so can you really blame me? But it's okay, cause that won't happen again.” He fingered the Wand of Koopa next to him. “Well anyway, let's keep going and find a good place to camp down there. We should be in the Koopai by tomorrow. Today's been a long day. Let's go, I'm already thinking about pancakes.”

“Alright, the boss gave me the coordinates to our final destination.” relayed Morton. “And I know the area well enough. I used to rule these parts in the old days, if anyone still remembers those days. Memory seems to be getting worse. Well, I got a good place to to camp, so follow me.”

With that, Morton, now driving a jeep put his foot on the gas and the rest quickly followed him down the slopes of the Koopa Crags. Lemmy followed above, nervous about the whole ordeal and wondered what was going to happen tomorrow. He could only tap his fingers in anticipation on his father's diary, hoping that it was right.

* * *

The only light was of the blood red moon, casting its ominous glare over the ocean water. A small boat slowly traveled across its breadth, heading northwards with hardly a splash. To Luigi, he could not afford to announce himself to the Koopa Kingdom at sea, never mind entering the Koopa Kingdom relatively unnoticed. He had managed to descend the rocky cliffs of the Mushroom Range earlier to a small harbor, finding the boat he now rode upon. Luigi only wished he had more gas than he currently did for the motor, otherwise he would not mind taking the long ride to Sarasaland by sea. But because he could not, he decided to cross the kingdom at night in hopes that he would have a greater chance of slipping by unnoticed. From there, past the eastern Koopa Crags lie the territories of Sarasaland and the princess he needed to rescue, Daisy. It was just a short walk over Birabuto to her castle, or so he hoped.

The shoreline of the Koopa Kingdom could finally be made out in the low light up ahead. Dark and unlit, it seemed devoid of life and Luigi wasn't sure what to make of that as of yet. For all he knew, it could be anything. But as he approached closer, it became clear that the docks he had intended to land at were in utter ruin with dock posts and half submerged boats sticking out of the water. The buildings on land looked heavily damaged and abandoned with not a single light to be seen anywhere. The shroud of darkness made Luigi rethink his strategy in crossing the kingdom with his flashlight. If still inhabited, then he would be a walking target if not for any soldiers that were left, then to thieves and robbers who would certainly be inhabiting the area.

Luigi maneuvered his boat amongst the wreckage until managing to find a post next to shore. Turning off the motor, he tied the boat to it with a rope before jumping out onto dry land. Indeed, the whole place was a mess, as if struck by some natural catastrophe. As he walked inland trying to find a passage or some kind of rad, he noticed a putrid smell waft up his nostrils. It took him a moment for him to realize that it was the smell of rotting flesh: corpses. The devastation here was more serious than he had imagined. Luigi looked around him, trying to locate the source of the smell. Above him, the debris ridden road climbed to a height where a few flickering lights could be seen at the top of a hill. It appeared that Bowser's Castle was intact and still inhabited as well as the surrounding area, but given the gargantuan loss of infrastructure he wondered where the rest of the populace had gone.

No sooner than thinking this did Luigi spot an odd shape further down the coastline. The smell was strongest this way and Luigi could only shake his head at the sight. So they were all dead. Partially illuminated by the moon, he only had to see the familiar shapes of Koopa's and their protruding limbs to guess what occurred. Another reality check of where this was all heading. It was one thing to speak, it was another thing to see. The face of Daisy broke that morbid moment, giving him the impetus to keep going.

Luigi continued up the road, deciding not to use his flashlight after all. He didn't care as much now after seeing what he just saw. A million thoughts ran through his mind. These are the consequences of such an event called the pole shift. Nobody seemed to prepare for it, nor did they seem to care. Satisfaction in the moment is what matters to most, at least that's what Luigi remembered of Brooklyn. But even here that could be seen, now dead having payed for their lack of preparation...for their inability to imagine such a life. It said a lot about people and Luigi nodded, understanding. They could not let go.

His road continued upwards, passing rows of empty and damaged buildings. As he stumbled over the debris blocking his path, he thought he could see faces in one window, but his direct gaze shooed them away. “So, there are people here!” Luigi thought, growing more cautious with every footstep. Faces moved between windows, too fast for Luigi to make out but he sensed an oncoming ambush. He heard something come up behind him, and turning around Luigi saw a familiar enemy suddenly running from him.

A bandit! It had taken his flashlight and was running off down the street. Luigi gritted his teeth in annoyance, not liking this particular kind of enemies. He didn't have much on him save for a mushroom, which help him much here. He then remembered Kamek's wand, and taking it out of his tool belt, he swung and pointed it in the bandit's direction mimicking Kamek's spell casting. A multicolored swirl of shapes flew out of the wand and hit the bandit dead on, and it fell to the ground unconscious. Luigi stepped forward to retrieve his flashlight, but saw that many bandits were rushing forward towards him in an apparent ambush. Waving the wand again, Luigi let loose a large swirl that knocked several bandits off their feet with an explosion of debris. Another was smashed through a wall before another jumped down from the window above. Ultimately, he was smashed through the same wall seconds later. But more bandits were now piling towards him from street corners and alleyways, and Luigi knew he could not fend them all off. He was going to have to run. 

Blasting away the bandits in front of him, he left his flashlight behind and began his uphill battle, jumping from one pile of debris to the next. The bandits tried climbing over the obstacles but were clearly slowing down behind the champion of long jumping. But they were quick to adapt, and others began trying to jump on him from above, forcing Luigi to send them flying into the sky with his wand.

“Hey!” came a voice.” Get up here quick!” Luigi looked up and saw a handful of Koopa Troopas shouting at him from the top of the road. Well, so much for secrecy. Now it was a matter of survival. 

“Too late! Watch out!” Clunking sounds were heard and Luigi barely dodged what appeared to be an oil drum set afire. Multiple of them were sent down the hill and the bandits, now numbering around 20 finally started to act somewhat panicked and some had already given up and left the group. With an ingenious idea, Luigi stopped on a rock and shot a whirling spell at one of the rolling drums which exploded in a monstrous flame, sending a wave of debris tumbling down the hill engulfing a number of bandits in its wake. The rest finally dispersed, not wanting to deal with the Koopaling in charge as a river of fire rolled down the hill.

With that, Luigi made it to the top of the hill where he was immediately swarmed by Koopa Troopa's. He put his wand away on instinct.

“So you're the hero?” said one. “That was pretty sick, dude!”

“Yeah, but I'm sure he ain't here hunting bandits!” said another, more suspicious.

“I'm heading east to Birabuto.” Luigi claimed, which was true enough. “This is the only way to get there. The pipes are all torn up from the sea south, one of them goes directly to it. It doesn't work now.”

“Bummer.” said the first. “I don't know what the hell's in Birabuto these days, most people went west. You can spend the night in the inn if you want. There's only a few of us left now.”

“Yeah, sane folk left.” replied the second. “And I swear you look familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. Oh well, these are rough times and you look pretty shaken up. Talk to Bob in the inn and he can fix ya something cheap. Don't stay too long.”

Luigi followed the group up a different road relatively clear of debris up towards what he guessed was Bowser's Castle. The area surrounding it was fenced off with a wooden wall hastily constructed and guarded by soldiers wearing different uniforms. Indeed, even Luigi's overalls were now well weathered and browned from his adventure, no doubt helping to disguise his identity. His growing facial beard helped in this also, and he didn't want to know what would happen otherwise. He was nearly halfway through the kingdom already.

Upon climbing a short steep hill, they reached the outer wall which was closed by a pair of steel gates, bent erratically indicating their quick construction. 

“Josef!” called out one of the Koopa Troopa's. “We got another traveler! Says he's heading to Birabuto!”

A Koopa with a drunken gaze came out from the side of the wall and stared at Luigi. “Don't even know that way's passable.” he remarked. “Yeah, you can come in but I'll have to say a word to the King. Not often we get people going that way you know.”

The gates opened and the group made their way inside the complex before the gates promptly shut behind them. Here, it seemed much more lively than the outside with buildings occupied and seemingly well lit not with electricity, but with torches and oil lamps. The electricity had indeed been cut through the whole kingdom, Luigi thought. The entire area seemed to surround a few hundred homes and other buildings, apparently trying to group up the survivors into one location. Those lights he saw in the sky days ago did something to the kingdom and he needed to find out what.

The smell of garbage returned Luigi to reality, staring down the street he was walking on. It was filthy, with garbage littered along the sides along with a number of people sleeping there in ratty clothing. Some people looked at him as they passed, but none seemed willing to find out who he was, a far cry from the old days of Bowser. The whole atmosphere seemed rather anarchist.

“The inn is straight ahead on the left.” said one of the Troopa's, pointing towards it. “We'll give you word if the King will allow you passage. We've had a lot of treasonous folk bolt here recently. No offense.” With that, the group dispersed in various directions, leaving Luigi to himself. Upon looking around, he saw the inn to his left just across the street, simply titled “Koopa City Inn.” He walked towards it, deciding to get as much sleep as he could.

“Psst!”

The voice came from an alleyway, and the shadow of a hand was seen beckoning Luigi to come towards it. As he did so, the shadow disappeared into the darkness but as Luigi looked down the alley, he saw another shadow again beckoning him towards that direction. He got the point. Quickly sneaking down the alley, he reached a corner before the shadow of some inhuman hand appeared on the back wall.

“Stop.” said a raspy voice. It sounded familiar. “You don't want to see this face.”

“Um, who are you?” Luigi asked. 

“Heh, I'm not surprised.” it said. “I sound terrible. The Galaxy ruined it, ruined my face. Here, let me show you.” A new shadow appeared on the brickwork, clearly the shape of a face with round protruding ears and what looked like a snout that was partially cut off.

“Mouser.” Luigi muttered.

“There you go.” Mouser said. “Been a while, huh?”

“Yeah...” Luigi trailed off, thinking of other things. “Mario's dead.”

“So I hear. A nice little battle with Bowser then boom! Meteor hits them both. Critical hit.”

“Not funny.” Luigi muttered. “What do you want?”

“Wanted to talk.” said Mouser. “Don't have much time left, you can see. Things you must know. This Kingdom is gone. All gone, destroyed. They moved west over the crags. New land over that way.”

“They migrated?” Luigi asked.

“That's the word.” Just then the ground rumbled beneath them, an apparent earthquake tremor which lasted for several seconds before stopping just as quickly. “Heh, ground rumbles everyday here. Something about plate borders and other science. But anyway, it's all a wasteland. Frozen wasteland after this is over. You wont find much here.”

Luigi remembered E. Gadd's presentation on board the Galaxy some time ago and remembered parts of the Koopa Kingdom becoming the new North Pole.

“I guess I shouldn't be surprised, huh?” Luigi said to himself. 

“There's another thing.” said Mouser. “Thought of you when I saw him, Waluigi. He survived the crash.”

“Where?” Luigi asked, worried.

“I was just north of Wario's turf. Or, what was Wario's turf. Anyway, I was headed up here and was thinking about crossing the sea using a pipe...stupid, I know. Then I hear this rambling out to the East, in that rocky desert that surrounds Larry Koopa's turf, Genlic and I saw him. He looked like some hobo in a plumbers outfit, and I gotta tell you, his head was out of control. Mind, hair, everything. Kept talking to himself about his love and how he was coming for her.”

“He was going north, right?” asked Luigi.

“Yeah, more or less.” said Mouser. “His feet were everywhere, but I'm thinking he came from that Beanbean Kingdom to the southeast, then turned north. He'll probably pass near Genlic any day now, but that's what, 10-12 miles from him? I don't know if he'll do it the hard way, but he'll probably try to cross the Eastern Channel into Birabuto.”

“Mama Mia, that's all I need to know.” Luigi sighed.

“Heh, that's all I wanted to say.” claimed Mouser. “I saw you and figured 'Hey, I should tell that plumber that he's not the only one after the Princess.' Plus, with the way things are going, I doubt I'll be seeing you again after this. Ever.”

“Well, thanks for the tip.” said Luigi, turning to go. “I hope you won't get into any more trouble.”

Mouser laughed. “It's gonna happen. But I got no bad blood with you, that's all I want to say. Have a good life.”

“Thanks. Good luck.” With that, Luigi made his way out of the alley, realizing that he needed to manage his time better if he wanted to beat Waluigi, in many ways his anti-self. Impatient yet filled with more purpose, Luigi checked into the inn and walked to the front counter. 

“One room, please.” Luigi asked. A red and black toad turned around sporting a pair of shades.

“Hinopio!” Luigi exclaimed, remembering him from the Koopa Bar aboard the Galaxy.

“Hey, it's a Mario Brother.” said Hinopio with an enthused tone. “You sleep for free. No coins, no beer, no nothing.”

“Yahoo! Thanks!” said a rather cheered up Luigi and he made his way up the stairs to the second floor, which was relatively undamaged. Picking the closest empty room, he shut the door, took off his tool belt and promptly cast himself onto the bed. He was lucky to find another one, and by the sound of it, it might be his last before reaching Daisy's Castle. Luigi soon drifted off, dreaming dreams of fulfillment.


	35. Ludwig's Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Ludwig's leg of the journey, a group of Koopa's attempt to take control of the situation by attacking the monarchs, which forces Ludwig to hasten his plans.

*knock knock*

Luigi moaned and rolled over to look at his watch. It was 8:26 AM.

“The king would like to see you immediately.” The king? What did he want from him?

“Uh, am I under arrest?” Luigi tiredly replied.

“You are not going to the dungeon.” was his response. 

“Okay.” Luigi muttered, getting up. Grabbing his tool belt, he put it on before walking to the door. After a moment, he looked into the door's peephole and saw a single Koopatrol waiting outside. Finally, Luigi opened the door and the Koopatrol looked at him.

“The king has requested your presence. Please follow me.” With that, he marched off with Luigi following, already wanting his morning coffee. He was a bit sore from the previous day and hoped he wasn't getting into any more trouble. 

They made their way down the wooden steps and out of the inn with the Koopatrol taking a left onto main street. The morning didn't look much brighter than the previous night with a volcanic gloom covering much of the northeastern part of the kingdom. The streets were more lively than before but not joyous; the commoners were absorbed in their own thoughts and did not pay Luigi any mind as they walked past.

At length, the Koopatrol took a turn to the left toward a pair of gates that looked far better constructed than what he had seen a night earlier. The Koopatrol saluted, and the gates were opened by unseen forces. Making their way through, it was a stretch of time before Luigi saw Bowser's Castle up close and what a mess it was. Rock lay scattered all around its circumference, some in large piles and the architecture was barely recognizable. In fact, it looked more like a damaged medieval work than one of Bowser's modern castles.

“What happened here?” Luigi finally asked.

“There was a war.” the Koopatrol responded. “The king can tell the rest of the story. He knows it better than I.” They made their way up a wooden ramp that led upwards to the front gate of the castle. Below, Luigi saw piles of bones, species he could not recognize. Reaching the gate, the doors opened automatically and they went inside. The doors closed behind them. Servants went this way and that, but to Luigi they didn't look like servants. Plainly dressed without any unique identifiers, they looked more like everyday people than official staff. Volunteers?

Reaching a large stone staircase, the Koopatrol began the upwards ascent with the green plumber following. After what seemed like walking 100 steps, they reached the top to what appeared to be a small throne room near the top of the castle, or at least a makeshift throne room with tables and chairs set up to the sides with a throne situated in the back. Sitting in one of these chairs was a large Koopaling with a purple shell eating something that resembled meat. The left side of his face was scarred, with his skin seemingly lumpy and disfigured.

“Your highness, Luigi.” announced the Koopatrol. The Koopaling merely looked up and Luigi remembered him now: Roy. He was one of the worst ones. But he didn't say anything and just looked at Luigi while he ate, At length he waved his hand and the Koopatrol saluted before departing.

“So, what do ya think?” Roy asked, chomping on another piece of bacon.

“Um...” Luigi was not sure what to say to that. He just didn't want to get pummeled.

“Well?”

“I don't feel like fighting you today.” Luigi managed to say.

“Hah! Dis is the end of the world. Doesn't matter now. You have no princess, I have no grudge. Want some food?” he asked.

While Luigi was able to get along with a few of the Koopalings on board the Galaxy, Roy was not one of them. Then again, he didn't talk to him much out of fear and a lot had happened since then. Plus, refusing free food was a bad idea these days and he didn't know where he would find something good to eat after this.

“Okay.” Luigi said, reluctantly sitting down across from the menacing turtle. Roy snapped his finger and instantly, two “waiters” appeared with plates of pancakes and bacon along with a couple bottles of liquor. Taking a bottle of rum, Roy poured it over his pancakes before slapping a large slab of butter on them. “So, what you comin' this way for?”

“I'm trying to save my princess.” Luigi admitted, taking a slice of bacon. 

“Why come this way? Could've went up Diamond City, then find a pipe there. Or more north till you find one.”

Luigi shook his head. “Most of the pipes back home are broken. The shortest way on foot is through here.”

“Same with dis shithole.” Roy muttered, eating a good chunk of his pancakes. “Can't move anywhere without stepping on shit.”

“I heard there was a war here, but I don't know much else.”

Roy grunted. “Yeah, we had a war. I caused it. My fault. If I hadn't moved my foot to that brat's face, none of this would've happened. Brat's dead now, heard Iggy killed him more or less.”

“Bowser Junior?”

“That's the fucker. Long story, but here's the short of it. Guys ruled behind the scenes. The UmNaru, sons of gods. Controlled dad, made him do things he didn't want to do, controlled others or something like that. They got me for a while. Wanted Junior to be the next king, had to help him. No choice in that. There's wands and battles and earthquakes. Lemmy blasted me off the castle tops. Haven't been the same since. Three kings fought the UmNaru. Lots of light in the sky. Ludwig got the main guy, Iggy got the rest. Kingdom is now a shitpile. That about sums it up.”

Luigi nodded. In many ways, he shouldn't have been surprised. The Koopa's were a war-like race bent on personal glory and domination. Seeing a war break out after Bowser's death was almost to be expected, really. He drank a glass of orange juice as he put the puzzle together. The lights he had seen in the sky a few days earlier must have been a part of that war.

“So you're here to look after what's left.” Luigi guessed. 

Roy said nothing and chomped down the rest of his pancakes. 

“Have any survival plans?” Luigi asked, with the Koopaling's demeanor bugging him. 

But Roy laughed at that and leaned back on his seat. “I'm going down with da ship. I've done a lot of bad. Killed numbers beyond count, can't remember how many. Bullied my family for years. Invaded countless lands, killed their people. Then poof!” He made a show with his hands. “I wake up. The guy I bullied the most wakes me up. And den I have to pay it all back, everything I did. Huge debt. What do I do? I try, you have to try. But I'm going to do them a favor...” he trailed off, looking out a window towards main street below. “I'll leave them something. Gotta.”

Luigi was silent, deciding to indulge himself while he still could. Roy said nothing for quite a while, immersed in his own thoughts. A new world was taking shape that he felt had little to do with him. He couldn't see a role for him to play. Maybe his glory days were over. In any case, he still planned on doing what he had planned on for a while.

After much time, Luigi got up. “Thanks for the breakfast.” he said. “I should get going before anything happens to Daisy.”

Roy waved his hand. “I have to make up you know. It was all bad business. Have to make up for it. Go and be happy.” 

Luigi smiled. “You too.” And he left the room, mostly remembering how he got there in the first place. But Roy frowned. He was not satisfied. If he was going to make up, then he would have to do a lot more than this.

Out of the corner of his eye, Roy saw a shadow dance on the wall in the back of the room. “Are you done?” came a voice, feminine.

Roy turned and looked at her. “For now. I'll come around in a sec.” That seemed to satisfy her as she turned and left the room. He ate one last bacon strip before getting up. He may have left a bad legacy, but there were ways to make amends...

* * *

Scrambled eggs sizzled over an open fire while others passed out plates and utensils to the denizens who had awakened not long before. While many indeed looked tired of what has occurred so far, others seemed to be more alert and awake, quietly talking to themselves in hushed tones. One officer, walking by a campfire pointed to the group that sat around it and most of the others simply nodded in response, already understanding what he meant.

Over his own pampered breakfast, Ludwig watched them collaborate together from within the safety of his armored transport via several monitors in front of him. They were clearly not going to cease their attempts at overthrowing him and Kylie, now that the structural hierarchy was crumbling apart. While the attempts could be written off as “Koopa nature,” Ludwig wondered if there was more to this that what could be seen. His magic scans indicated a subtle, underlying black magic influence over the greater group that followed him. The UmNaru were considered extinct, but that didn't mean that their servants wouldn't try to fill their shoes. They would want their revenge after their brutal defeat.

“I hope you're not thinking about going out there.” Kylie remarked, eating a bacon egg sandwich.

“It appears I will not be.” Ludwig replied. “According to my observations, a subversive plot is currently being conjured between certain militants and bureaucrats, with a few politicians certainly having their word. It seems we must keep hidden from public view for the time being.”

“Remember what I said the other day? You got a prize now and everyone wants a piece of it? Sitting here happy won't helps us any.”

“And as I previously specified, my castle shall not be sitting here for very long.” Ludwig said. “I am taking the warnings of our visitors seriously, especially after the preceding fallout.”

“They must think we're nuts right now.” commented Kylie. “I'm full of eggs and I'm being hunted at the same time. I feel like the easter bunny.”

“A reference to Earth culture, I believe.” remarked Ludwig. “An unavoidable influence, considering our previous development.”

“Hey, I'm curious. Did anybody find out if the pipe to Earth was still attached?”

“Recently? I do not believe so.” said Ludwig. “An expedition was set up shortly before the civil war, which concluded that a similar happenstance is currently underway on Earth, in which the populace is largely unaware. Quite fascinating, especially hearing of their supposed unawareness of natural disasters occurring around them. It seems the mammals have a greater incidence of denial amongst them, if the former princess of the Mushroom Kingdom has not yet proved. But in other words, a very similar scenario.”

“I guess the Mario Brothers are the exception.” commented Kylie.

“They were the exception, in any case.” said Ludwig. “As only one remains.”

“Oh, that's right.” Kylie frowned, not liking what happened to Mario. “I don't like remembering that. I mean, look at how many times he's had to save her from your dad. Then this pole shift thing happens and they call it quits. Happy ever after, right? Nope. Your dad was a menace. Why did he go and ruin it for everyone?”

“It was more complicated than you currently imagine.” said Ludwig. “It all began during childhood when they first met, envoy's of the late King Morton. Suffering a defeat from what I now consider to be an UmNaru staged victory, we had sent a party of negotiation to the castle of the Mushroom Kingdom with the hair apparent present along with his sister. They were placed together within an adolescent nursery as a sign of good will, and--”

There was a loud knock on his door. “Your majesty, are you all right? Do you require any amenities?”

“That is not my policy.” Ludwig muttered under his breath. He made a motion to Kylie, who got the hint. Taking out the polarized Wand of the Earth, they began to cast a spell as they had previously planned.

Outside the vehicle were a group of soldiers, with a few of Ludwig's militia at the head. One of these pounded the door again. “Your majesty, are you ill? Does the Queen require assistance?” No response came, and he turned to the group behind him, nodding his head.

“I apologize your majesty, but I must enter the vehicle.” A pair of Koopa's ran up and quickly placed a bob-omb upon the door's outer edge and the group ran for cover. In moments, there was a small explosion followed by the group running up to the door with crowbars and a variety of weapons. The explosion did not destroy the door, but it did destroy whatever was locking it shut. Several Koopa's pried the door open and immediately entered the transport.

“Your majesty!” But the Koopa stopped short. There was nobody in the vehicle, but there were signs of a rushed breakfast.

“What now?” asked one businessman.

“They were just here!” claimed another. “Did they see us coming?” 

A soldier pointed to a collage of video screens in the corner. “Yeah, this sucks.”

“We can't say he died now, can we?” asked one mechanic.

“Yeah. If they warped into that castle, then this sucks.” the soldier continued. “Plus, we haven't started--”

“I know where it is.” said a soldier in Ludwig's militia. “We haven't gotten there yet but we're not far. If we start moving now, we might have a chance.”

“So the King and Queen are incapacitated?” asked the businessman.

“It'll have to work.” said the soldier, and the crew filed out of the vehicle with their new plan. “Let's get moving! Ludwig needs medical attention!”

* * *

Kylie teleported inside of a large rock cavern, circular in shape and lit with white lights hanging from the ceiling along with strips of blue light on the walls. A path crossed through it, similarly lighted on either end. On the other side of the room was an elevator shaft which stretched upwards out of sight. Ludwig was nowhere to be seen. Kylie sighed to herself.

“Did I mess this up again?” she thought aloud, still having problems with her teleportation spells. She was definitely in the tunnels that surrounded Ludwig Castle, but where was the question. She did not know much of its layout, but if she had to guess then the correct direction was directly in front of her. 

“Code 4 alert! Code 4 alert!” came a computerized voice which echoed throughout the room. The whole area around her was filled with rumblings and slams of machinery. An elevator was seen traveling down from the shaft above her before resting on her level. Bulkheads closed above it, blocking access to the outside. The white lights above suddenly went dark, with the blue along the wall shifting to red. She held up the Earth Wand like a flashlight, letting its reddish glow grant her vision. She saw that the path on either side had been closed off by bulkheads. She was effectively trapped.

“Um...” Kylie walked up to one of the bulkheads and quickly saw there was no obvious way of opening it. There was no keypad or switch anywhere near it. She knew that Ludwig was obviously in this place somewhere, but she had no way of contacting him.

Or did she? “Oh wait...I keep forgetting that.” she thought to herself. Of course, she forgot all about her new telepathic abilities since becoming the new Queen. Realigning her mind as Ludwig taught her, she listened just in case he was trying to talk to her.

“...to your location.” she heard, definitely Ludwig's voice.

“Okay, well I'm trapped in here.” she relayed back.

“You must be near Elevator Shaft Three, judging by your position.” she heard Ludwig say. “Luckily, I am extremely close to that location.”

Moments later, the door behind her shuttered before moving upwards, revealing Ludwig wielding his personal wand. Walking through it, he used the wand to move the door back down into place.

“It appears your teleportation abilities still require tweaking.” grinned Ludwig.

“Yeah, well you said no further than the shaft.” she argued.

“As a general guideline, yes.” said Ludwig. “However, the target location was the inside entrance to the complex. This is where I initiated Code 4, which activates invasion mode. Essentially, all passages to the outside are closed with 2 foot palladium bulkheads with one inch titanium plating on either side. This includes emergency routes and other secret paths in which they would undoubtedly try to use to their advantage. However, without a mobile station which scans one's person for DNA recognition, the only way to open these bulkheads is this.” He held up his wand. “Trust me, we are quite impenetrable in here.”

“I'd ask you about someone cracking into those things.” said Kylie, but she clutched her stomach. “My kids are getting feisty again. We should get going.”

Ludwig huffed. “I am one lucky Koopa.” he said half truthfully.

“Yes you are.” wooed Kylie, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Will you require help?” Ludwig asked, noticing her leaning forward.

“No, well not yet.” responded Kylie.

“Then let us hurry.” said Ludwig, opening the door with his wand. “It seems the last phase is approaching, and you may be unable to walk soon.”

“Don't underestimate me.” warned Kylie. “Watch me make it to the end of this.” They walked past the door before Ludwig closed it into the ground. They continued down the hallway in silence, each using their wands to illuminate the path before them. The walk was uneventful, the path being a square cut in the rock with few marks on either wall. Kylie did notice what appeared to be booby traps outlined in the walls, but little else.

Reaching another bulkhead, Ludwig opened it and they passed through before he closed it again. After this, Kylie swore they walked a mile before they reached another bulkhead, this time more than twice their height and wider on either end. By this point, Kylie had to lean on the wall as she had not expected so much exercise in her state.

“This is the secondary bulkhead.” explained Ludwig. “From here, we enter the second shaft, which separates us from the primary bulkhead to the castle. In other words, we are getting close.” With a keypad on the wall, Ludwig punched in a code to open the doors, along with a retina scan. Completed, the doors slowly opened sideways revealing a very large and well lit space, and the first thing Kylie noticed was the enormous bulkhead on the back wall. It must have been over 70 feet tall, crafted out of a thick metal and emblazoned with Ludwig's logo in the center. Between the duo, the floor was non-existent, a large black space over 50 feet across in both directions that plunged into unknown depths. Catwalks lined either side of this space before joining together just below the massive doorway.

“Wow...” said a somewhat impressed Kylie. “I don't think people know how much work you put into this.”

“They will, shortly.” Ludwig smirked, walking to another keypad and punching in a few more codes. The path behind them became filled with obstacles, including some that Kylie had seen in the walls now jutting out in preparation for any intruders. Ludwig closed the bulkheads shortly after, trapping them in the large room.

“Isn't this slightly overkill?” Kylie asked, walking with Ludwig onto the catwalk.

“One cannot go wrong in imagining every possibility.” said Ludwig. “I had foreseen the possible potential of my father's lecherous subordinates migrating to my camp to continue their extravagant lifestyles. This has occurred more so than previously thought, but does not matter now in any case. While this facility was built to withstand such invasion attempts including a potential siege, little of that matters now as the plan has changed considerably. This fortification was built with the thought of hiding from the pole shift in mind.”

“Well that's not going to happen.” Kylie pointed out. “I wouldn't let you do it anyway. This is the last place I want to be my grave.”

“An inherent truth, I may add.” Ludwig said. “One that the Kappur have so enlightened us about.”

Directly below the center of the bulkhead was a monitor affixed to a post next to a stairway that led up to the door itself. Ludwig dismissed his floating head screen saver and enabled final activation mode. A pair of red lights on either side of the door went off, and the screen asked for an alphanumeric password.

“This will be just a moment.” said Ludwig, taking out his wallet and a photo of Kylie, before flipping it around to reveal the 29 character code. As he punched it in, a fear suddenly overswept the Queen.

“Hey.”

“What?” Ludwig asked.

“What if we don't make it?” she asked.

“Then that is all that can be done.” said Ludwig. “If one performs to the best of their ability and yet death overtakes them, then so be it. We cannot ask for more than what we are capable of.”

Kylie did not respond. Ludwig stopped himself and sighed. “Do not think of your life as unworthy. If you are incarnate now and alive in the flesh, then you deserve your chance at existence. Do not spend much time despairing, lest you forget to live your own life. The only way to survive now is progression and adaptation, not stagnation.”

“Thanks, that helps a lot.” said Kylie.

“Don't forget that the little ones are more than likely feeling what you currently feel.” Ludwig pointed out.

But Kylie scoffed. “Can I feel what I want to once in a while? Geez, you know I can't drink anything to stem this either!”

Ludwig did not immediately respond, sensing Kylie to be reaching her stress threshold. “You have been through much,” he started, “And I will not ask much more of you during your term. Just remember this: when facing uncertainties, do not allow yourself to be controlled by your fears. Simply walk through them.”

A beep, and the code was accepted. Low noise sirens sounded and the bulkhead began to unlock itself. “Electrical power online. Running pre-diagnostic checks. Supports nominal. No artificial substances detected. Engine in standby mode. Unlocking primary bulkhead.” 

The bulkhead finally disengaged its primary locks and slowly parted to the sides. Expecting to see her husband's castle in all its glory, Kylie was surprised to see only a narrow passage, cut as high as the door way and veering left around the corner. The rest looked like solid concrete made some time ago.

“That's...really anti-climatic.” Kylie complained.

“Originally, this was a space used during the construction phase.” said Ludwig. “However, upon its completion I felt it wiser to align the entrance with my defensive plans and thus shored the space with concrete. Do not worry, the climax is ahead.”

“That reminds me of that time when--”

“Hush.” silence Ludwig, walking up the steps. “I have more than made up for that since then.”

“Mmm, mostly.” Kylie hummed, following him. “But I'll wait for the rest. My back is kind of busy right now.”

“We are nearly there.” They went through the left turn of the passage before veering right through another corner. Eventually, the concrete walls fell away and they found themselves standing on top of a precipice, flanked by narrow rock walls on either side. The view ahead of them was pitch black and nothing could be seen.

Walking to yet another monitor, Ludwig began the activation sequence. A loud clunk was heard followed by a whirring noise that continuously accelerated in pitch. Lights blinked to life, not on the walls by tiny specs in what appeared to be narrow windows inside a massive structure of some kind. They danced on through it, illuminating the countless floors before the outer beacons, green and blue were finally lit. The whole picture slowly came to view and the sheer size of it could finally be seen. It was at least 1,000 feet across and at least that much high, though the structure was more horizontal than vertical. Unlike most castles, this was not constructed of stone but of metal with its sleek design reminiscent of the Galaxy. More whirring noises were heard, generators starting up in the distance and the whole space started to become illuminated, grid by grid powering on. The lights reached upward hundreds of feet above the complex to a central point that was barely in sight. It was as if Ludwig had gutted out an entire mountain to build his castle inside of it.

“So what do you think?” asked Ludwig. “Do you think it will meet your requirements?”

“Hell yeah.” Kylie exclaimed. “But there's one little thing. How are you going to get this out of here with just the two of us?”

“Yes, we are slightly incapacitated with the lack of an able bodied crew.” said Ludwig. “However, after some thought, the launch of the castle only requires three individuals for it to be successful. The third person I will be able to acquire shortly.”

* * *

After finishing lunch, Larry Koopa walked through the halls that led to his room, thinking of writing in his journal for a while. On his side of the globe, the weather was clear with a blue sky, and the light danced upon the ocean that sloshed to his left below him. Indeed, life seemed to be getting better for him after deciding to try and let go of his old life.

“Greetings Lawrence.” he heard the familiar voice of Ludwig say in his mind. “I must require your assistance in activating Ludwig's Castle.”

“Don't you have—oh.” Larry frowned, now seeing his situation. He then immediately cast a teleportation spell and manifested in front of the Earth couplet. “I warned you.” he said, reminding him.

“Yes, and so did many other entities.” said Ludwig. “In essence, this has been quite the humbling experience. Nevertheless, the behemoth is more dangerous left alone to fate than to the clinging claws of ourselves.”

“Are you still going to put this thing in the Koopai valley?” Larry asked.

“Indubitably.” said Ludwig. “With a slight change. Rather than performing a landing and lock the underside to the foundations currently in place, I shall have the castle hover above it to help ward off intruders similar to what I had only recently witnessed.”

“What a surprise that was.” Larry sarcastically thought to himself, remembering seeing Ludwig's encounter on the Koopahari Pass. Ludwig may have inherited Bowser's constructive abilities, but he certainly did not have his foresight. He had too much faith in other people, perhaps a coping mechanism to help maintain his own lifestyle. Denial ran in many forms. Why else would he escape to a high tech fortress to ride out the shift?

Larry remembered Bowser's words aboard the Galaxy when he was first handed the Wand of the Blood. Even if he was under the control of the UmNaru then, his words were not entirely incorrect:

“...He's too arrogant for his own self worth so naturally he'll be angry. He would rather watch my kingdom burn into ashes just to live his vengeance than try to save it. That is why he cannot rule! He must not rule. I need someone who can save whatever remains. Our lineage must survive and I will not see it destroyed by some pompous idiot. Out of all of my kids, at least someone has taken it upon himself to try to survive.”

Given what's happened since then, Larry really didn't blame himself for his actions. But now that things have calmed down a little bit, he could see the consequences of his choices. He had confirmed Ludwig's ascension to King of the Earth himself as did his brother Iggy Koopa. After all, anyone who defeats Dac'Leon deserves some kind of high honor. And that's what it should have been, a high honor.  
It was clear that Ludwig had the well being of his citizens in mind, but not from a survival scenario mentality. He wasn't going to be the one gardening from a shed or tending to a flock of albatross. Instead, Ludwig promoted a luxurious lifestyle that ran counter to sustainable living. Funny, because the very people that would be interested in his offer just back-stabbed him earlier. It was a warning to the Earth King, and Larry knew that if Ludwig did not see that, then his older brother might not make it.

It was one thing to speak an ideal. After all, words were just words. But it was another thing to live it, and Ludwig clearly wasn't living what he had explained. This was just an excuse to maintain his own lifestyle. In any event, getting his castle out of here was better than leaving it in.

“Alright, let's get this done.” said Larry, looking over the precipice. “Where is the front gate?”

“It is down below you, left of your person.” said Ludwig, pointing past Larry. Taking hold of Kylie, they disappeared in a flash of blue light before reappearing down below Larry. A gate opened, double doors parting to the sides and a ramp extended outwards towards the ground. Larry snorted. Pompous as usual.

Feeling more athletic, Larry jumped off the precipice, plunging about 20 feet before slamming his feet into the ground below. He looked up at the beast above him as he walked towards it. To him, it looked like the Galaxy redux, albeit more horizontal than vertical. But those days were over, and a space station that catered to every need was not needed on the surface. That was the last thing that was needed, to bury one's head in luxury while pretending to care about the suffering of others.  
“Marvelous, isn't it?” said Ludwig. “I must give you a tour in the near future, but for now this must suffice. Come, I shall show you what needs to be done.”

All three monarchs ascended the ramp and entered the castle. Lights beamed through the futuristic looking hallway, confirming Larry's theory. It was a large hallway, seemingly built to accommodate many people at once. Other halls branched off it, clearly lounges and places of that type. Passing by some windows, Larry almost felt like he was looking out into space again, until the outlines of rock could be seen surrounding the castle. In many ways, that's what the Galaxy really was, a shelter against insecurity and the judgments of others. Was he trying to do this all over again?

On their left were elevators that lined the wall, which Ludwig walked up to before pushing one of the buttons. A pair of doors opened and the trio stepped inside.

“In order to release the castle from its confines, I require at least three individuals.” Ludwig explained to Larry. “I request that you fulfill the role of pilot, while the Queen tackles the diagnostic checks as I accommodate the engine room.”

“If it's anything like the Galaxy then I can probably do it.” said Larry.

“There are similarities.” Ludwig admitted. “I will show you.”

The elevator came to a stop and the three walked out into a narrower hallway. They did not travel far when Ludwig stopped in front of another door, fingering a set of keys. Finding the right one, he turned it and punched in a code before the door opened, revealing another elevator. To Larry, such a large amount of security was pointless for a so-called survival shelter. 

Getting in, the door closed and the elevator quickly moved upwards before coming to a stop. The doors opened, revealing the bridge of the castle. It was much smaller than Larry thought it would be, with only four seats placed around the front screen with a fifth set behind them, set higher than the others.

“The basic controls are rather rudimentary.” said Ludwig, walking to the pilot's chair. “Altimeter, pitch and roll...please check the atmosphere pressure gauge on occasion for any pressure shifts as we exit the mountain complex. Otherwise, the ascent has been programmed into the mainframe, therefore most instruments will be running on autopilot. If you require assistance, you may call the radio or through the usual means.”

With that, the two exited the room without another word, leaving Larry to himself. He was beginning to feel resentment for being used like a tool for his elder brother's machinations, especially after contemplating Ludwig's true motives. After all, this castle main purpose seemed to maintain Ludwig's lifestyle and those who thought along similar lines. How ironic.

With a sigh of frustration, Larry began fiddling with the controls to get himself more familiar with the console. One screen was at the beginning of a diagnostic checkup, while others provided views from around the structure via cams attached to the hull.

“Kylie shall begin the diagnostics check.” said Ludwig through a radio console, just reaching the engine room. “We must launch as soon as possible.”

* * *

A Koopa hurriedly made his way inside a green tent where many people were discussing something on a table in front of them.

“He thinks we'll try the main entrance.” said the same soldier from earlier. “That's why he barricaded everything with titanium plated bulkheads, just in case we brought our tanks with us.”

“They'd blow them apart anyway.” claimed one ragged looking Koopa.

“Maybe two of them.” the soldier replied. “He has 50 feet of these things past the entrance. But we're not going in that way. There's emergency exits here, here and here that are close to the main entrance. He probably has these blocked off, but its only one layer. A bob-omb should take care of those. Once we're in, we head straight this way.” He pointed down a corridor. “That leads to the castle.”

“Going in there alone...I don't know what the fuck he was thinking.” muttered the mechanic, “He can't start that castle, or whatever it is by himself.”

“The castle is a highly advanced piece of machinery.” the soldier said. “Shelter there--”

The ground suddenly shook, knocking dozens of people from their feet. Immediately after, there was a more gradual shaking and many supplies flew to the ground.

“Earthquake!” exclaimed many, running out of the tent in a hurry. The Earth was indeed moving and many cast themselves to the ground, unable to maintain their balance.

“That bastard probably did this on purpose.” scowled a well dressed businessman, now clinging to the ground for his life. But most people were to shocked to say anything. The road in which they traveled became covered with dirt as a small landslide washed across it, separating them and the rest of the population less than a mile away. The latter frantically picked up their supplies and turned back on the road in an attempt to escape the carnage. The renegade party was trapped.

“Look!” cried one, pointing to the mountains. One of the pointed peaks of the Crags suddenly cracked straight down its middle and parted both ways with a loud noise. Rocks tumbled from its height which rolled down the hills surrounding it, soon creating an avalanche of rock and mud. The solider knew where this was going.

“Down the hill! Down the hill!” he cried, trying to run down the steep drop below him without losing balance. But not everyone followed, with the prize of safety and food stores too much for them to let go and even in that moment, some went the other way and scurried to the main entrance to the complex some feet away despite a bulkhead sealing it shut. Others scrambled over it, looking for one of the emergency exits to use as an entrance. But the rock-slide had grown in size and was devouring everything in front of its path, and it began to cover the higher exits into Ludwig's underground complex. For those who changed their minds, it was too late. Running back, they were no match for the rock slide and they were buried alive as it rolled down the mountainsides. 

For those brave enough to look behind them, they would have seen what at first looked like a large eruption of rock pour from the opening of the mountain, furthering the momentum below. But as it rose and more rock fell below, it became clear that this was a large structure, horizontal in shape that was lifting itself into the air from the mountain depths below. For those travelers who saw the sight, some had stopped having already putting the pieces together, though still more fled the scene, too scared of the potential catastrophe that might await them.

Meanwhile, in the bridge the whole scene was visible from Larry's viewpoint and he shook his head at the sight. “Defeats the purpose, doesn't it?” he muttered, fiddling with the sensory controls. The screen shifted from actual to infrared upon the flip of a switch. “But, this is pretty fancy.” he admitted. Infrared shifted to night vision, and from there to heat detection. People here were more clearly seen, some driving down the road they came, others holding back but many were scattered and motionless across the landscape, presumably dead. Zooming in, Larry followed the trail of bodies to a separate camp just outside the entrance, not half buried in rock.

“Hey Ludwig, you didn't tell anybody to camp outside the entrance, right?” Larry asked over the radio.

“That is correct.” said Ludwig. “They have presumably made a move after my departure, but little of that matters now. Their settlement, especially their plans should now lie buried in debris as planned, covering most entrances to the facility below us. Our focus now lies upon the population that has followed us until now and their general safety and concern. Of course, they will not be able to board this vessel immediately due to a lack of a solid surface to land upon. However, I shall give them an announcement as to my current thoughts.” 

Reading Ludwig's mind (to an extent), Larry piloted the castle towards the southwest, or to his 10 o' clock, turning more left to try and reach the people fleeing from the landslides. The castle was dirty from its rushed launch from within the mountain, but high winds aloft began to help clear the debris especially as Larry descended in altitude hugging the rock face of the Crags.

In the engine room, Ludwig stabilized the current flow to his massive toroid reactor before sitting down at a desk. Taking a radio, he switched between frequencies before finding the desired result.

“Alpha 9, come in. This is Delta 5.” he relayed.

“Delta 5, how's it going?” came Morton's response. “I hope you're in that flying castle headed towards me.”

“Your assumption is correct.” said Ludwig. “The castle has been successfully activated, albeit with a few minor disturbances along the way. The foundational release preceding to liftoff seems to have triggered an earthquake, undoubtedly felt by your person. Given your presence, I shall assume that all is well on your end?”

“Yeah.” Morton replied. “Well, its alright. Road grew a few cracks and we got some other shit covering parts of it, but we're still in one piece. We should get to the southern fork by sundown, then turn north to a good spot near the Koopai river. It's an old camping ground, we'll just take the whole thing up. Lemmy's still here, he's been kind of bored.”

“Glad to hear of your progress.” said Ludwig. “You should be aware that the previous earthquake has sent a flurry of frightened immigrants back upon the road on which they came, and some may be heading towards your direction. We shall attempt to calm those who remain and help clear sections of road that may or may not have become impassable.”

“Do you have enough fuel for that?” Morton asked. “That trip was going to be short, right? I mean, I have some excess I could leave behind right now if you want, but I don't think it's going to be enough.”

Ludwig grumbled. “That is what I was afraid of. In this case, I shall attempt to land the castle at the foot of the Crags using gear specifically designed to such an event, and after boarding the denizens, will travel northwest to the location specified at the beginning of the migration. Given the current time frame, we should arrive at that location just past sundown.”

“Roger that, captain.” Morton replied.

“Theta 7, please come in.” Ludwig relayed.

“That's like telling me not to listen to you guys talking.” joked Lemmy, laughing. “Kzzz, this is Theta 7. I have received your entire conversation. Over.”

“As is your duty.” Ludwig said, rolling his eyes. “But in any case, the transmission is considered to be a successful event given what has transpired since my departure. A coup was attempted upon us, but foreseeing this the castle was launched earlier than planned, and the resulting landslide effectively scattered the group.”

“So I guess I'll confirm it.” said Lemmy. “And add that little update too.” 

“That would be appreciated,” thanked Ludwig, “As now the Old Kingdom shall be aware of what has truly transpired in this region without the political slant the former executives were inclined to lean towards, simply to fulfill their own agendas. This will hopefully discourage those to attempt what has thus been attempted.

“In any case, we should all be reunited together come tomorrow and the most difficult leg of the migration over. Again, I wish you all luck in your endeavors and thank you for your assistance.”

With that, Ludwig put the radio away and got up, casting a teleportation spell to the bridge, It was good timing, as Larry was about to try and contact Ludwig to see if he needed anything else.

“I thank you for your services, Larry.” said Ludwig. “I shall be able to pilot yje course for the remaining way. It is unfortunate that events transpired in this fashion, but considering the circumstances the results are more than satisfactory.”

“Things could be a lot worse.” Larry said. “How's Kylie?”

“She should be completing her diagnostic duties at this time.” said Ludwig, using a touchscreen to determine her location. But she was not where she was supposed to be. Ludwig took the radio next to Larry.

“Are you there, dear?” Ludwig asked, but he received no reply. He hummed to himself, unable to establish a telepathic connection with her, but he saw where she currently was.

“You need to go help her out.” said Larry, seeing her breathing heavily on a chair. “She's probably in her last phase.”

“So it seems.” Ludwig made some adjustments to the flight path, programming the system to fly to the base pad located northwest of the Koopai river some distance. “The system is now on full autopilot. As you've suggested, I must now tend to the Queen but before I do so, I must make an announcement to the population below us as to the current standings. Therefore, I must ask---”

“Don't bother asking, I'll take care of her until you're free.” said Larry, teleporting out of the room. 

After thinking for a moment, Ludwig picked up the radio and switched the mode to broadcast.

“Greetings, this is King Ludwig.” he began, his voice echoing across the mountainsides. “I do hope that most are safe following the earthquake just experienced. I must apologize for the plans that have otherwise gone awry. My person was forced to launch the castle preemptively due to a cabal that untruthfully announced my incapacitation in order to try and seize the castle for themselves. Fortunately, this plan has failed and I remain in good health. However, due to the landslides that have occurred, boarding the castle with the original plan is not practically impossible. I have devised a solution to tis dilemma, which is as follows: upon the successful return to the Koopahari Pass, we shall head into the lower Koopai valley, essentially following Prince Morton's route for a time. Upon reaching the base of the Koopa Crags, I shall land the castle and initiate boarding procedures from there. As those accountable for storage are well aware, we do not have enough fuel to reach the upper Koopai valley and thus must rely on the castle to get there. As was the practice from the sinkhole incident, all equipment and fuel from the remaining vehicles shall be taken into the castle upon vacation. Until that moment is reached, the focus will be on traveling down the Crags safely, and clearing any blocked paths as needed. If impassible, then driving off road may be required. Please take caution if this must be resorted to. Again, I apologize for what has transpired, but as the Earth Changes progress survival will become more difficult. I thank you for your patience and for your attention.”

Switching the radio back to two-way communication, Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief before remembering his wife. He teleported into the room she had stumbled in earlier, one of the many single family residences available in the castle. There, he found Kylie leaning back on an armchair with Larry talking to her.

“Oh, there you are.” said Kylie. “I'm afraid I'm a sitting Goomba for now. It's too heavy to walk.”

“Then we have arrived just in time it seems.” said Ludwig.

“You're going to need a doctor pretty soon.” mentioned Larry.

“There is none on board at the current moment.” said Ludwig. “However, there are several in company below us, currently traveling upon the road. Considering Kylie's current condition, I believe it will be a few days before a doctor will be required to remain at her side at all times, which is more than enough time.”

“Yeah, and until then you get to do their job.” snapped Kylie.

“Inevitable, apparently.” sighed Ludwig. “I believe Larry should be relieved from this burden immediately.”

“Fine.” Kylie frowned. “I'll let the nice one go.” She leaned back in the chair.

“Once again, I thank you for your help.” said Ludwig.

“I do what I gotta do.” Larry murmured. “Good luck to you two.” With that, Larry teleported out of the room and back into that hallway in Genlic from which he came. The sun was now lower on the western horizon, and Larry guessed it was well into the late afternoon. 

“Hey Larry, you there?” chirped Larry's scanner. They had recently employed a portable ham radio system for the cabinet to keep better track of each other.

“Hey Mona,” Larry began. “Yeah, I was out for a while, underground helping my brother Ludwig with his luxury resort, so the signal propagation was probably shit.”

“Why would anyone build a resort now?” Mona asked. “Unless they're gonna live in it.”

“He calls it a pole shift shelter.” Larry responded. “I guess our understandings of what makes up a shelter are completely different. He thinks a flying castle filled with lounges, bars and rooms for every family can be a survival shelter. Okay, but where's the food coming from? Who's going to grow all of that? He never says a thing about that, or how he powers it all. That thing is like a lifeline for the deniers who refuse to imagine a simple life, let alone doing any dirty work on their part.”

“My mom is like that.” said Mona. “She has to have the best perfume available, the best fur and obviously the best man. Pretty much the most entitled supermodel you can think of.”

“Entitled...” Larry thought aloud. “That's a good way to describe him.”

“Well, I'm making some dinner down here.” said Mona, changing the subject. “Barbecue Goomba with a sauce I threw together if you want it.”

“Yeah, I'll be down there in a few minutes.” said Larry, putting his radio away.

“Okay.” Mona chirped, and that was that. At least he got something out of that little favor he did for Ludwig, though the long term prospects of that little endeavor weren't good in his opinion...


	36. Awe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iggy receives a vision of the events to come in the near future, in time for a major catastrophic global adjustment.

_“None of that will happen, son. Don't believe in those conspiracy theories.”_

_“Don't listen to that rubbish. Bowser did the same thing. They just want you to be fearful.”_

_“Could you go to the store and pick up some Dino Chops? I'm sure they'll have 'em.”_

_“Dude, you don't even know who God is. You just think you do!”_

_“Let's keep religion out of this, okay?”_

_“Where's my heaven on Earth, huh?”_

_“I got enough stocked up for this.”_

_“Ludwig left because he doesn't want to be king. That's what I think.”_

_“He'll probably throw it on Lemmy, right?”_

_“Why do I have such shitty cell service today?”_

_“Not much on TV either. Only a few stations coming in.”_

_“Did you get your car repaired yet?”_

_“No grandma, remember what I told you? There's nobody working there anymore.”_

_“That's nonsense, they would say they were closed if that were true.”_

_“Why hasn't the new king cleared the streets yet?”_

“Welcome, Iggy Koopa.”

Iggy opened his eyes to the vast expanse of space, with his world in the foreground. Turning around, he saw a group of Kappur standing nearby simply watching him.

“Hello Kappur.” Iggy relayed telepathically. 

“To be brief, we would like to show you a vision that will aid you in the times ahead. What will be presented is about to pass, so immediate action is the preferred method for tackling this situation.”

They suddenly disappeared and were replaced with the sight of the solar system, which had somehow twisted itself around Iggy. The orange giant, Naru was seen slowly traveling towards the Earth, which began to buckle under the stress.

* * *

Penny awoke, her eyes now on the ancient ceiling above her. “That...was crazy.” she whispered to herself. Next to her, Iggy was sleeping on his side with his back turned to her.

“Are you awake?” she asked aloud.

“What did you see?” Iggy asked monotonously.

“It was crazy. I was flying in space then I entered some type of space ship. It was definitely alien. I can't remember their faces, I just see blanks. But I remember one saying 'This is where you are supposed to be.' That kind of confused me...”

She rambled on about her dream-like experience that was obviously more than just an experience, but Iggy was hardly listening, not needing to. What Penny didn't know was that Iggy was wide-eyed, staring at the wall in front of him after having seen something that shocked him utterly.

“When?” he muttered.

“They showed me this...huh?”

But Iggy was already out of bed and had finished crawling back into his shell. “When?” He quickly walked out of the room, leaving a confused Penny behind. “...what?” was all she could say to that scene. 

Iggy was already some distance down the hall when his waking conscious returned to him, effectively making him remember his teleportation abilities. In a moment, he was before Erzembar and already running up to his high seat in the middle of the room.

“Good morning.” Erzembar began. “I must inform you of--”

“When?!” Iggy exclaimed, reaching his seat.

“...approximately 12:47 hours.” Erzembar responded. Iggy brought up a holographic globe of the world, noting the wobble in the planet's rotation. Manifesting the sun near it, he pointed at the star and traced its path along the elliptic of the planet. “There...” he muttered to himself before dismissing the display for a view of all neural connections across the globe. Many of the Koopa's were quiet, even the one's who had suffered through landslides the previous day. Ludwig was continuing with his long thought out plan, something Iggy knew would turn out badly. The best thing to do was to let that play out. After all, the best way to convince someone of a truth was to let them see it for themselves. 

But even then, it was clear that most didn't seem to care at this point, more focused on trying to survive day by day in their increasingly difficult lives. With the recent landslides, erratic weather and destruction of infrastructure, the focus on the so-called “entitled” life had dissipated and was replaced with living in the moment with what one had. The days of inherited power were fast diminishing, as such days assumed a role of traditionalism founded upon the stability of a society. That society was now fracturing, the Earth was in turmoil and people had other things to worry about other than some arrogant king trying to have his way with things. To Iggy, Ludwig's doom was already before him, though doubtless he himself could not see this. It was only a matter of time before this occurred.

Larry was a different story, having made the transition in perspective to cooperation with others. That didn't mean his problems with relationships went away, as his day to day life showed quite clearly while working with the denizens of Genlic. But at the very least, he was willing to adapt. He had learned the essentials for self sustainability early on in the process, and his gardening abilities were still being called upon almost daily. Unfortunately for him, he was going to have to deal with Ludwig at some point as managing the family is his prime responsibility as Blood King. “That's going to be a lot of fun,” Iggy thought to himself.

Otherwise, as the globe showed, floods and landslides made up the great majority of the disasters now taking place, alongside Earthquakes along the active plate fault lines and the eruption of a handful of volcanoes daily. Worldwide, society was crumbling apart in every culture, some at faster rates than others but nevertheless the path was quite clear now. This is what the Earth King should be focused on, but that was a moot point at the moment. Plus, Iggy did not like performing the jobs of others if he could help it.

Speaking of which, Iggy switched his view from the holographic globe to the outskirts of the Erzembar complex. More immigrants had indeed arrived overnight, with pitched tents less than a mile from his location. It seemed many magic users had seen his presence (God's Wrath spell or otherwise) and had migrated to him looking for answers. This has been a growing problem for the past few days, as he did not expect so many people to be willing to live in desert conditions with him and neither did he have enough resources for all of them. But that was more Penny's area and not his, being the manager of the Temple of Inauro, Having enough space for them inside Erzembar itself was not the issue, the problem was and continued to be food and water.

That reminded him. “You have a purification chamber used for distilling water, so...” Iggy began. “You must have some type of chamber for food, correct?”

“Not so much a chamber...” Erzembar said, but he never finished himself.

“Something you don't want to show me.” Iggy responded. “Again. There's only so many surprises you can keep before we need to use them.”

Erzembar audibly sighed. “It is meant for the aftermath, not for use previous to the pole shift. I do believe your human friend has enough store of seed to feed the current contingent currently occupying the surrounding landscape.”

“Seed, sure. But that was for the aftertime also. Are you saying it's fine to use them now?”

“I do contain facilities for planting seed.” explained Erzembar. “Therefore, I recommend using Penny Crygor's current store of seed in the meantime at least until the disasters require one to use other measures.”

“Let's see how well she responds to that without seeing what you have for alternatives.” Iggy mused. 

“Quite well, considering what is to occur today.” reminded Erzembar. Thinking, Iggy activated Erzembar's satellites in orbit and took a peak at the current state of the world, despite seeing it all in his head to make things more convenient for him. The Earth was still twisting in place, locked in a figure 8 wobble due to the nearby presence of Naru and causing the usual weather phenomena Iggy had grown accustomed to for the past few months. The land formally known as Diamond City was now a flooded mess, the remaining residents floating on flotsam and jetsam, others stranded atop the roofs of buildings expecting rescue. Of course, none came and none would come as that city was considered all but overthrown by natural forces and the real issues were the entitled lives that people have been programmed to live. The Mushroom Kingdom was also suffering severe Earthquakes lately on it's southwestern shore in step with the plate movements that held the Yoshi Islands. Upon sight of the numerous tropical islands that held the majority of the Yoshi race, Iggy began to realize what was going to occur.

“The Yoshi Islands are currently accelerating it's rate of elevation loss.” said Erzembar. “The plate that holds this land is being tilted down towards the southeast, raising the southwestern Mushroom Kingdom upwards. This will be the beginning of today's adjustments.”

As if on cue, a call came in for Iggy with the source originating from the Yoshi Islands. Answering it, the globe was replaced with Yoshi's face, with numerous other Yoshi's in the background.

“Hi Yoshi.” said Iggy. “I see what's happening to your homeland. I hope you are all prepared to meet the disasters that will happen today.”

“Yoshi Yoshi! (Hi Iggy Koopa!)” Yoshi said. In earlier days, Iggy would have had no idea what the creature meant but with his new mind reading capabilities, this was now a different story. “Yoshi yoshi, yoshi. Yoshi yoshi? (Our islands are sinking. Do you know anything about this?)”

“The Mushroom Sea plate is tilting downwards in your area.” explained Iggy. “And the Yoshi Islands are losing elevation because of it. As a result, your islands are going under the sea.”

Many Yoshi's gave cries of despair then, many understanding the common tongue. “Wuahh!!! Yoshi yoshi yoshi...(Oh no! I hoped this day would not come so early). Yoshi yoshi, yoshi yoshi yoshi. (But we are prepared to move on to new lands if we have to). Yoshi yoshi, yosh...yoshi yoshi yoshi, yoshi. (We will be splitting up as not all tribes have the same opinion). Yoshi yoshi yoshi, yoshi yoshi yoshi? (Would it be okay if one of these moves to the jungle just south of your kingdom?)

Iggy thought about it for a moment. “That should not be a problem, actually.”

“Yoshi! Yoshi. Yoshi yoshi, yoshi. Yoshi yoshi yoshi, yoshi yoshi, yoshi. (Great! Thank you. But many of us need help getting there.) Yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi? (Would you mind if you came to the main island and helped us?)” 

Iggy figured that Mario would normally do jobs like these, but with his death it seemed like the Yoshi's were desperate. “Alright, but this has to be quick.”

“Yoshi! (Thank you!) Yoshi yoshi, yoshi yoshi. (We will wait for you at the highest summit.)” And with that Yoshi's face disappeared.

“Did I just hear Yoshi?” he heard Penny say, who had finally got up and made her way into the chamber. 

“I need to rescue the Yoshi's, since they're facing endangerment.” said Iggy. “Most of their islands are going to sink soon.”

“Soon? What, today? They're all going to sink in one day?”

“12:47 today. That entire plate is tilting down. It's already flooding many of the islands. I have to do something about it, so I have to ask you to take care of things here until I get back. Well, your area at least.”

“I take care of it anyway.” said Penny. “Did more people come in last night or something?”

“Pretty much. Eventually I want them to come in here so they wont flood your place, but until then I need another hand here.”

Suddenly, one of the satellite feeds went offline, replaced with static. “As if to prove my point.” Iggy muttered to himself.

“Satellite Quentem bombarded with radioactive muron particles.” stated Erzembar. “Attempting to rectify...unable to rectify. Naru is transmitting a wave of various particles towards our location, the beginning of the adjustment.”

Another went offline, and Iggy retriangulated the remaining satellites to a view of the plate movement of the Earth. The Yoshi Islands plate was moving, attempting to drop to its southwest. But this view too went to static after mere moments.

“Wow, this is bad.”

“Partial failure of satellite network. 46% disruption reported. Detecting mass compression of Earth's magnetosphere. Activating emergency support systems and defensive procedures.”

“Authorize Penny to use your defensive and civil systems.” Iggy ordered.

“As you wish.” replied the artificial intelligence. 

“What? Iggy, don't expect me to ace this. I never worked with such a massive AI before.” 

“I don't expect you to.” Iggy replied, jumping off of his chair and landing next to Penny. “He'll give suggestions based upon the current conditions and suggest a course of action to take. This rest is your judgment. If I don't at least attempt to rescue these guys, then I'll never hear the end of it and that's a fact.”

Penny said nothing, not having expected to wake up to this in the first place. But at least it convinced her to do something later, after this thing was over. She somewhat regretted not doing it earlier, but that was life for you: the best teacher.

“Make sure to get everyone in your shelter before it hits!” Iggy said, already making his way out of the chamber.

“I know that much!” she shouted back. Scratching her head, she looked up at the AI that Iggy had been speaking to for the past few weeks. “Greetings, Penny Crygor.” Erzembar began. “Your decision has renewed my faith.”

“Oh right, you can read what I think.” she muttered. “So what do you think of this?”

“That it was a rather unconventional move made by the Spirit King.” said Erzembar. “Perhaps to prove that the vessel matters least, with spirit matteringmost. My programming typically prohibits such pairings, intending to keep the line of Koopa intact. However, given the current situation with the Kappur and what they have shared with me, little of this matters now.”

“The Kappur...that sounds familiar.” 

“They are a race from the constellation of the same name. They have been designated by the Star Council to be the inheritors of this world, with the Koopa race to be phased out of existence due to many reasons, including their susceptibility to selfishness from influence of the other spiritual orientation.”

“Woah, slow down.” said Penny, making her way up to Iggy's seat. “Let's take care of these people outside first, then you can tell me the history of the universe.”

In the meantime, Iggy made his way to the hangers of Erzembar, taking out the Spirit Wand in the process.

“Hey guys, incoming.” said Iggy, transmitting a message to the other wands. “Major adjustment. Brace yourselves.”

“Yeah, we're feeling it here already.” said Larry.

“Duly noted.” said Ludwig. “I shall strategize accordingly.”

Putting the wand away, he soon reached the hangers where a large cargo ship was parked. He had noted that there were a few other vehicles parked there and had kept forgetting to ask Erzembar about them. He shook his head. Even though he hated it, now was not the best time. Boarding the ship, he walked o the cockpit and fumbling about for a moment found the ignition and turned it on. The ship powered on instantly and above him a circular escape route opened up to a cloudy sky above him. Putting the ship on auto-pilot for the moment, it rose up through the opening before emerging on one of the sides of the inverted pyramid that made up a part of the Erzembar complex. 

It was indeed cloudy outside, which for the desert was unusual. Iggy checked the holographic display in front of him and found the temperature to be 82 degrees, very low for a desert. An air mass must have passed down from the polar north, he thought. He would have to make this rescue attempt as quick as possible. He had a bad feeling about all of this ever since he got up.

Shifting the controls to manual, Iggy took off towards the southeast directly heading towards the Yoshi Islands. Within a few minutes, he reached the western Mushroom Sea and became more impatient about the situation. The mountains that lay far to the north of the Mushroom continent were dark in volcanic gloom, with multiple volcanoes already erupting from the northern Mushroom plains all the way to the Kong jungles. The black clouds were seen drifting towards what was now termed the “Old Kingdom,” prompting Iggy to sigh at the sight. They had left just in time, it seems. But for those who had decided to stay behind, life was already getting much worse.

A loud noise interrupted his thoughts. It was not mechanical in nature, and Iggy looked out his windows to find the cause. It sounded like a quintet of un-tuned trumpets calling out to each other, and he remembered the trumpets spoken of in some of the ancient Koopa manuscripts he read years ago. He theorized that rock under tremendous stress could make such a noise, which in light of the earth changes made the most sense in theory. The plates were moving.

Suddenly, without warning Iggy's ship was blasted with air, clouds quickly moving towards his direction. His speed slowed significantly and he struggled against the onslaught, turning the ship towards the right in an attempt to try and avoid it. Below him, he saw the southwestern Mushroom Kingdom to his left and did a double take as he saw parts of the land literally rippling with waves rolling across the landscape. He didn't know how that was possible, but he had other concerns at the moment. The display in front of him warned him of decreasing altitude, which in light of seeing all engines still working didn't make sense. He looked below him and it soon become apparent that the ocean was rising up toward him. The plate was lifting up! He accelerated forward towards the other end of the plate, beating the rising water within a few minutes. But what he saw next horrified him. 

The Yoshi Islands were seen below him, most of them being eroded by seawater, Dozens of villages were overrun by the tides, with Yoshi's seen scrambling for higher ground. Debris ran with the flood tide, with many struggling to hold on as they were swept inside the islands with the incoming tide.

Iggy headed for the area's namesake, a large tropical island with a solitary mountain sitting in the center of it. Upon sighting Iggy's ship, Yoshi's began to run towards him from all over the country side. Iggy landed the vessel upon the highest flat hilltop and promptly opened the cargo bay door. Almost immediately the Yoshi's swarmed into the vessel, often tripping over each other. The waves quickly approached Iggy's position however, and he knew he could not stay for long. When the waves began to lap onto the grass nearby, Iggy pulled the ship up into the air while leaving the cargo door open. More Yoshi's attempted to jump into the vessel as it slowly ascended, many flutter jumping their way to safety. Many more did not succeed, falling into the waves below to the dismay of many on board. The water converged below them, successfully submerging what was once Yoshi's longtime home. The cargo hull was a loud ruckus full of wailing Yoshi's with little order amongst the mess. Iggy knew he had to end this quickly. 

Flying up, he then turned back towards the Koopahari desert to the west northwest, aiming more towards the jungles that lined it's southern territories. The turbulence was very rough, the air chaotically mixing about in the atmosphere as the globe tilted about. Below, Iggy saw a large tsunami headed straight for the southern Mushroom Kingdom shore which just went through a large Earthquake a few moments earlier. They were getting walloped for sure. Ahead of him, the shore of the Koopahari appeared to have already been hit by waves, with water rushing inland. Whatever settlements that were there appeared to have been totally over run by flooding. That meant Ludwig's Doom Sub was probably long buried in sediment, but Iggy had little use for it to begin with.

He crossed over the desert, but the engines suddenly started to sputter. A warning flashed on the console before all of the lights went out simultaneously. 

“Not again...” Iggy moaned, annoyed by the electromagnetic pulses flowing through the atmosphere. Flying was becoming near impossible with this environment and now he had to save not only himself but the Yoshi's below him in the cargo bay. He steered the ship towards the southern Koopahari mountains as he descended through the sky towards them, trying to figure out how to restart the engines. With the ignition failing to start, he knew that he couldn't waste any more time. Grabbing a lever with the other hand, Iggy flew low over the jungle and tried to stay as close to the trees as possible. Eying a microphone, he took it and pushed a button.

“Sorry guys, but I lost both engines.” Iggy announced. “We're over the jungle now. I'll fly as close to the trees as possible and drop you guys off. This thing is going to crash.”

Naturally, their voices rose into an uproar but there was little Iggy could do to calm them now. He opened the cargo bay door again, and the Yoshi's naturally held on for dear life as the wind blew fiercely into the cargo hold. 

“Jump!” Iggy shouted, and a few of them did have the courage to flutter their way out of the hold and onto the treetops below. But most of them held on, too scared to attempt the drop. Iggy was caught in a pickle then, having the Yoshi's crash with him or forcing them out of the cargo bay. Either way did not look too good, but the latter was the lesser evil in Iggy's mind despite being potentially held accountable for “killing” them.

“Don't make me force you guys out of there!” Iggy shouted into the microphone, readying the cargo drop mechanism. “It's crash or jump!” That motivated a good chunk of them to help each other jump into the trees below. Within a few minutes only a few remained on board and Iggy was not about to have any crash down with him. “Sometimes you have to nudge them a little.” he thought, deciding to open the cargo drop. With cries, the remaining Yoshi's all fell simultaneously, attempting to flutter to survive. While Iggy didn't like sending people to their potential deaths, at the same time if one did not have the will to survive, they usually didn't.

Iggy passed over the jungle and into the open sands of the Koopahari desert, attempting to fly as close to the Erzembar complex as possible. This time, he decided not to try and start the engines again. He understood now that an electromagnetic surge would take much longer to fix than he had the time for at that moment. As the ship approached the sand dunes, he left the cockpit and jumped out of a door on the side of the ship, rolling onto the sand below. Moments later, the ship crashed into a dune, slicing it in half before coming to a halt inside of another one.

Iggy growled as he got up, now in the middle of the desert. Doing Mario's job was rather dangerous and time consuming. He looked around to gather his bearings and saw Erzembar not far to the northeast, with a column of smoke rising above it. “Well, that's not good.” he muttered before casting a teleportation spell to the inside of the complex.

Arriving back inside, he found the interior to be a mess with small debris littering the ground.

“The Spirit King has returned.” said Erzembar, talking to Penny. “I presume your duties have now ended.”

“Well that's perfect.” she said, getting up from his seat. “I need to check up on the outside.”

“So what happened?” Iggy asked.

“Your coastlines got flooded by a tsunami.” Penny said. “And there's a fire northeast of here in one of those towns. Otherwise, not much.” 

“Yeah I saw that. Expected that to happen. We're going to be seeing a lot of disaster today.”

“On this plate?” Penny asked, pointing to the ground.

Iggy nodded. “The Mushroom Sea plate is riding over this one, so there's going to be earthquakes to the east of here. I bet we'll see a tsunami or two on the coast, but not this far inland.”

“Okay. I should probably do something about those tent people.” Penny mentioned.

“Well, we might get some damage to our area.” said Iggy. “But the best thing to do during a earthquake is stay outside, so they're fine where they are at the moment.”

“I have a feeling that a lot of these people are here to see you, even though they're camping outside of my shelter.” said Penny.

“They don't know the difference.” said Iggy. “They think this whole complex is mine, although that's probably a good thing.”

“Yeah, I don't want everyone to storm my shelter.” said Penny. “So I suppose I can no longer keep it as open as it is.”

“Correct. I would hide it if I were you.”

“Are you going to bring those religious nuts in here at some point?” Penny asked. “That would help.”

“Eventually.” responded Iggy. “I haven't physically introduced myself to them yet, and there is not enough time to do this before the adjustment. Soon after it would be what I intend.” He looked at all the incoming requests for communication. “I am going to be very busy today. Next several days, actually. Once we're all accounted for I'll try to squeeze that item in there.”

“I don't want them to think I'm offering them free food on your behalf.” Penny alluded.

“You announced your shelter only to the Galaxy, right?” Iggy asked.

“Right.”

“Then as long as your shelter's presence s not made obvious, I would not worry about it.” said Iggy. “I'll be doing a few speeches for them once this is done, so they'll be distracted.”

“Okay. Then I'm off.”

“I made this big frapp if you want some of it.” Iggy pointed to a big pot sitting on a makeshift stove on the wall. “You'll have to put the whipped cream on yourself, though.”

“I always do, Iggy.” she said before walking over to the pot. Iggy smiled, getting the inside joke before she even said it. Turning back around, Iggy saw that he had a waiting list of 18 entities waiting to talk with him. Funny how many didn't care for the spirit world until disaster hits them, Iggy thought. Regardless, there was only one way to do this.

Taking the globe, he mapped out the locations of the calling spirits and from that grouped them into a network together, effectively initiating a connection to them all simultaneously.

“Spirit is what matters.” Iggy began. “That thing which lives on after death. Possessions do not, they're tools and tools are lost and broken. Those who live unfulfilled lives do not know their inner selves. With that in mind, I'll try to answer as many questions as I can before we are put before the disasters in front of us...in order of appearance.”

The first call was focused in upon him, coming from the land that housed the Beanbean Kingdom. It seemed to be a relative to the incarnate Peasley. “Hi, what's being done about nuclear power? There's a lot of reactors here and we're worried about contamination.”

“I was told that most reactors will shut down.” said Iggy. “As long as the call to shut them down remains steady, then this should be the case. Until then, stay at least 10-20 miles away from them in case something happens. Next.”

The view changed to what appeared to be a pile of dirt and rock, but upon closer inspection Iggy could see trees native to the Mushroom Kingdom growing in the background.

“Hi.” said Toad, popping into view.

“Hi Toad.” said Iggy. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah. They call you a spiritual visionary now. I don't know what that really means, but I was hoping you could help me.”

“Shoot.”

“Well, you might know this already, but Luigi left us to go search for Princess Daisy.”

“Yes, I see him.” Iggy replied, momentarily tipping the globe in that soul's direction. “He's tracking across the eastern Koopa Kingdom.”

“Oh he's alive! That's good.” exclaimed a relieved Toad. “We were worried. But here's what I was getting to: Luigi can;t help us anymore, so the task of been put on my shoulders. I don't know much about earthquakes and we just had a bad one here, so I was wondering what's going to happen to the Mushroom kingdom in the future.” 

“Right now, the Mushroom Plate is riding over the plate to its south, the Mushroom Sea plate that is.” said Iggy, “The land in the southwest Mushroom Kingdom is going to be rumpled upwards. I would suggest migrating everyone in that location towards the central parts of the kingdom. That area will be tropical in the aftertime.”

“I remember E. Gadd saying that.” said Toad. “Though I haven't seen him since then. I wonder where he is now?”

“He's at Lemmy Koopa's shelter located just south of the north pole.” said Iggy. “I should let you go because things are going to get a lot worse soon.”

“Okay.” Toad responded. “Thank you for helping me out. Take care of yourself!”

“You too.” Iggy paused for a moment, reflecting on his past. If it wasn't for Toad, then he more than likely would not be here right now. But with the list in front of him, he had to keep going. “Next.”

“Hello God-king.” said Waluigi.

Iggy snorted. “I am not a god,” he said.

“But you are a king, yes?” Waluigi pointed out. “Just a tiny fraction better than me, yes, Maybe you can help me. Maybe you can't.”

“Let me guess.” Iggy said, cutting to the chase. “You arrived at Genlic and asked for help reaching Sarasaland, but my brother never responded and you've been trying to find ways to get inside.”

“How did you know?” Waluigi asked, somewhat impressed. “Perhaps your brother told you. Perhaps not.”

“Regardless, storming Genlic won't land you a boat.” explained Iggy. “I suggest building one yourself.”

Waluigi hummed to himself, clearly getting a few ideas. It was clear that he was all set.

“Next.” But his globe suddenly fizzled momentarily before re-stabilizing itself.

“Hm?” He zoomed out until his vantage point was fully in space, and spun one of satellites directly towards the orange giant. It was seen moving in place, tilting itself towards the planet. It reminded him of the time when he was fleeing Naru aboard Dantek's ship, as well as the moments before his death...

“Hi there!” came E. Gadd. Speak of the devil. “I had a question, but it seems that Naru is making an advancement towards us. Ho ho! I think we should all hunker down right about now.”

“Agreed.” Iggy quickly stated. “Everyone else should do so now.” As he said this, he saw a thick bolt of lightning cross the void between the two planets, indicating a clash of particle flows. The Earth trembled beneath his feet, immediately worrying him. 

“Erzembar, there are no fault lines in this area, correct?” he asked.

“Not in the immediate vicinity.” the computer responded. “However, along our coast lies the one mentioned by yourself multiple times now.”

“Then that is a huge Earthquake.” Iggy muttered. Interplanetary lightning increased with greater intensity as the Earth was seen tilting in place, trying to evade particle flows that the Great Destroyer assaulted her with. He zoomed in on the Mushroom Sea plate when suddenly the globe turned into a space of static.

“Satellite Querlom offline. Muron particle bombardment detected.“ Erzembar stated. “Attempting to rectify...unable to rectify. Re-triangulating remaining satellites.” The globe reappeared, albeit with less stability than before, showing major movement in the Mushroom Sea region. The northwestern edge of the plate seemed to be tilting upwards to a small degree and to the southeast, the Yoshi Islands were now all but underwater. Iggy zoomed in on the northwestern edge of the plate, before the globe was lost again. 

“Satellite Quenlem offline.” Erzembar reported. “Unable to transmit surface features. Sensory array inoperability at 89%. Unable to restart satellite interconnections. Emergency landing of the satellite network is suggested.”

“No, leave them there.” Iggy ordered. “I don't want to have the possibility of not being able to launch them again.”

“Just like the others.” Erzembar commented. “Very well.”

A constant rumbling erupted, the plates now in full motion. Iggy had not anticipated this plate to be so active in his area. Then again, what area would not be affected by any of this?

“Kermillion fault has activated.” said Erzembar. This was unexpected.

“That fracture just southeast of here?” said Iggy. “That's not supposed to activate.”

“It has not for many ages.” said Erzembar. “It seems the--”A sudden jolt shook the complex, throwing Iggy from his seat and onto the floor below. “We have--” The lights went out and Erzembar never finished. Getting up, Iggy overheard the sound of crumbling rock overhead and pieces of stone fell on the ground around him. Ironically, one of them depicted a scene of workers toiling under the symbol of the great destroyer. A very large stone fell nearby Iggy, which blurred his vision into nothingness.

* * *

“What is this shit?”

In front of him, Morton saw the road slowly twist and heave upwards, the pavement cracking and buckling under the stress. Wasn't this supposed to be a safe area?

“All hands!” Morton said into his radio before swerving his jeep to the left, avoiding a major opening in the road. This was claimed to be a safe area, at least by Ludwig. But Morton's political gears told him otherwise, knowing better about how people operated. The Koopai was a river valley that lay between the western Koopa crags and the Andamine Sea. This put them a risk from flooding not only from the sea, but from the mountains above, draining their floodwaters from their often times treeless slopes. Morton also remembered Erzembar's warning from using Ludwig's Castle as a shelter. It seemed that Ludwig was trying to skirt this warning, but there was more to it than that. This was a river valley, lowlands. If anything happened here and there was no doubt that something would, then Ludwig's new castle would be at their rescue, supplying them with anything they needed. To Morton, it was an advanced display of soft power...to the point that the people wouldn't even know they were being controlled.

Morton decided to worry about it later as the road began to tear itself apart into an unrecognizable state. Explosions were heard behind him, and quickly turning back he saw the crags engulfed in volcanic smoke. Along the range he could see lava flows pouring down the mountain sides. The line of vehicles went this way and that attempting to avoid the debris in front of them.

The road heaved upward and Morton stepped on the gas in an attempt to get over it. The jeep was more flexible than he thought and easily drove over the obstacle. However, with the broken pavement he speed had slowed considerably, more akin to driving up a rocky hillside than driving on a highway. Eventually, the rumbling ceased and so did Morton's vehicle. There was nothing but a mess behind him, of broken Earth, uprooted trees and people attempting to drive through it all.

“We're halting.” Morton said in his radio. “Is anyone hurt?”

“One man on D52.” came one response.

“Two are down back here, D-line.” came another. The radio didn't seem to stop after that.

“Alright, we're halting for now.” Morton ordered. “Medics know what to do. I'm going to chat with Lemmy who should be with us shortly and we'll figure out what to do next.” He switched to a private frequency.

“How's it going up there?” Morton relayed.

Lemmy, flying in his vehicle not far from his younger brother casually looked around him. “How's it going down there?” he countered.

“It's going like an obstacle course.” replied Morton. “Well it was anyway. Where's Ludwig in all of this?”

Lemmy looked on his radar, then out his window. “Oh, flying northwest.” he casually said.

“Yeah, that's what I thought.” Morton muttered. “I hope you know what he's up to.”

Lemmy laughed. “Dude, I've known what he's been up to since we started this whole thing!”

“Then why haven't you done anything about it?” Morton annoyingly asked.

“Mmm, politics.” Lemmy responded. “Things need to play out.”

“You could easily sweep the rug from under him and take charge of this whole thing.” Morton argued.

“That's not the point.” said Lemmy. “People still think he's a good leader. As long as people think that way, then they won't see anything wrong with him. They haven't seen his hand yet, what he's really doing, you know? He's going to try and use the disasters as an excuse to force them to board his castle and hold them...well, virtually hostage. Once they figure this out, once he plays his hand then he'll be seen for who he is. I know he has no intention to live off the land, I mean come on. It's Ludwig, he can't live without luxury.”

“If he farms at all, it'll be for whoever lives in his luxury resort that he calls a castle.” said Morton. “I already see where this is going.”

“Yeah. I can't do too much about it though.” said Lemmy. “But I can see if everyone's okay.” He nodded to his pilot, who then began to lower his cloaked ship towards the ground. “I mean, why do you think I'm staying close to him? I know he fears me. I don't want him to pull any moves in this, but...once I go north, I think you'll see him pulling a few moves.”

“If he doesn't trust you, then why is he constantly saying you'll make a good king?” asked Morton.

“Come on Morton, you know better than that.” taunted Lemmy.

“...right, politics.” he muttered. “So he's stroking your ego.”

“Taunting me too.” said Lemmy. “But it's okay. He thinks he knows me, but he really doesn't.”

After a moment, Lemmy seemingly appeared out of thin air not far from Morton, hopping onto the ground. “Wow.” was the first thing he said upon seeing the extent of the damage. “So much for going back, huh?”

Morton chuckled. “Yeah. Better than where we were though. Hopefully we can start moving again soon.” 

“As long as they can track through water.” Lemmy commented.

“Why? Don't tell me the bridge over the Koopai is out.”

“Okay, I won't.”

“Fuck.” Morton looked to his north. “What about the rest of the river?”

“There's one north of here, yeah.” said Lemmy. “We're going on a detour.”

“Well, we're supposed to go north anyways.” said Morton. “May as well start now.”

“Well, aside from helping you guys out, here's my little plan.” said Lemmy. “We go north. I go north a little further. The king will do his thing and people won't be too happy about it. I won't be too happy about it. If he tries anything funny, then I'll show my face again.”

“Standing up to him and saying no is not the wisest thing to do.” Morton said.

“That's what the people will want you to do.” explained Lemmy. “Just tell them that you're for them and that you won't force them to do what Ludwig tells them.”

“And if they revolt? What then?” Morton asked. “That's a real possibility. You would have to take his place and that's what they expect.”

But Lemmy smiled. “I'm not going to become the king of what you know.” At that he turned away, looking at the swollen Koopai river in the distance.

“I'm not going to become the king of what you know...?” Morton said to himself, trying to make sense of it.

“Yeah. I made a choice.” said Lemmy. “Look out for me, alright?” He waved, then made his way over to the now dilapidated caravan.

Morton turned around to the mess before him. They hadn't even reached their destination and shit was already churning up. Whatever just happened was bad, no doubt about that. But with no electricity and no satellites, there was no way to measure the full extent of the damage. He took out his cell phone and checked for a signal, almost humoring himself.

“Nothing.” he muttered to himself. The cell towers were probably down, not to mention the satellites that failed a while back. That was it, then. It was the habit of constantly using his cell phone that was the problem now. It was funny how he still had a hard time letting go of technology.

Putting his cell phone away, Morton walked after Lemmy to check up on the full damage of the caravan that was supposedly migrating to a better kingdom.


	37. The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the planetary adjustment, Iggy tries to fix Erzembar and unlocks a new area of the complex while Penny Crygor finally makes her decision. Outside of Genlic, Larry is faced with an unruly mess that he is forced to deal with, eventually finding the culprit attempting to incite a mob outside the front gate. Meanwhile, the migration finally reaches the Koopai valley and Ludwig makes a speech outlining his plans for the next Koopa Kingdom, which for most is completely unexpected.

“Iggy!”

Rocks tumbled aside, allowing Penny to squeeze through the archway into the main chamber of Erzembar. She turned on her flashlight and looked around the room. Rocks and debris lay scattered upon a layer of sand which had somehow gotten into the chamber. Far above, a portion of the ceiling had fallen away and a grayish light shined down, partially illuminating what lay below. Iggy's seat seemed to be intact along with the spiral steps that led up to it. His holographic globe however was not and it now lay in the sand tilted on its side with a large blow to its northern hemisphere. The metallic face of Erzembar on the far back wall was dark and silent. It seemed the whole complex had taken a critical blow.

It was also cold. Penny pulled her jacket close to her, wondering how the temperature dropped to the lower 40's in a little more than an hour. “Iggy!” she called out, certain he was in here when the accident occurred. There was a growl and a hand forced itself out of the sand nearby, which shifted aside as King Iggy Koopa emerged upwards into a sitting position. Wincing in pain, he took his hands and placed them on his right leg.

“Are you okay?” Penny asked, rushing over to him.

“I will be.” responded Iggy, muttering a spell to himself. A white energy flowed into his leg for a few moments before disappearing. With a sigh, Iggy stood up after successfully healing his nearly broken leg. It was then that he saw his surroundings and shook his head.

“I'm fine, but Erzembar's not.” he muttered.

“This wasn't supposed to happen, was it?” asked Penny,

“I knew the fault was there, but didn't expect it to become active.” admitted Iggy. “I don't think Erzembar did either, but this is not that bad. At least the pyramid didn't crumble to dust.” He then spotted the holographic globe laying on its side. “Damnit. Well, that was fun while it lasted. Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I fell but nothings broken.” said Penny. “I'm more worried about you.”

“I heard you calling my name, but I couldn't move my leg.” explained Iggy. “White magic is more useful than I thought. Now it's just like new.” He looked at Erzembar and frowned immediately. “That is a problem. The quake probably cut one of the lines to the mainframe. I'm going to have to get back there and look at it.”

Iggy immediately headed to the face, looking below it to see if anything was out of place. Penny watched on wondering how she could be of use. If she had taken Iggy's offer of taking the wand earlier, she could probably know all about this place, but...

For now, she walked over to him and simply observed what he was doing. He seemed to be tracing lines on the back wall just behind the metallic structure. His fingers glowed white, and in response so did the indent on the wall, traveling until it disappeared from sight. With nothing else happening, Iggy tried another line and suddenly a million voices rang out across the chamber, all with a deep tone.

“Sounds like he's trying to process something.” Penny commented. “Maybe he overloaded?”

Iggy hummed to himself. “These voices aren't connected to each other. It sounds like his consciousness.”

“An artificial intelligence is not supposed to be self aware.” Penny argued.

“I don't think this is an AI.” said Iggy. He traced the line which went to the floor below his feet and was lost in the sand.

“You might want to back up for this one.” Iggy suggested. After they both did so, Iggy took the Spirit Wand and quickly muttered a spell to himself. The sand immediately blew upwards before being forced to the left by a strong gust: apparently, Iggy's way of cleaning house. When the sand cleared, the floor was readily seen and so was the indentation, which seemed to split and head in two directions with each circling around, but their destinations were again lost in the sand. 

“Huh. That's clever.” Iggy said to himself. 

“What is?”

“I thought all these lines just for design.” Iggy explained. “With all the symmetrical patterns around the place, it's easy to think that way. But...” He placed his finger back on the line which lit up on the floor below. Reading the pattern, Iggy cleared away some sand to his side revealing a circle in the middle of the curved rectangle the lines seemed to make. He tapped it with his fist, and the circle flipped 180 degrees, revealing a handle. “I found a door.” Iggy said, but he could not pull it upwards.

“You found something...” Penny murmured.

“I feel your presence.” came Erzembar's voice. It was faint, but intelligible. “Please follow this sequence: Quarter turn clockwise, one and one half turns counter-clockwise, half turn clockwise, full turn clockwise.”

Iggy turned the handle as instructed, with lighted marks appearing upon the successful completion of a turn. After completing the last turn, a crack appeared down the center and the doors opened upward pushing the sand covering it to the side. Both Iggy and Penny used their illumination devices and looked into the pit. It was surprisingly shallow, at least to Iggy's eyes, perhaps 9-10 feet deep but to Penny it was a bit of a drop. There was a glimpse of stairs leading downward, long covered by sand.

“I'll go first.” said Iggy, who then jumped and slid down the sand covered steps. The ceiling however dropped lower than he expected and he lay back as far as he could before landing on the bottom. Flipping over, he saw that the passage was actually a crawl space with the ceiling low to the ground. Two indented lines were seen along the ceiling traveling back through the passage ending at something ahead of him, but he was too far away to see what it was clearly.

He heard Penny sliding down above him, and after looking behind him could see that she was not expecting the ceiling drop either. Twisting himself back around, he held out his arms until Penny reached them, after which he threw her to the ground with his weight.

“What was that for?” Penny complained. Iggy merely pointed up and Penny's face changed completely. “Oh...”

Iggy rolled off of her. “I didn't think it was this low.” Adjusting himself, he started crawling forward wanting to get this part over with quickly.

“And you got sand in my hair.” she muttered.

“Me too, but I'm not complaining.” said Iggy. They slowly crawled their way through the passage, both growing uncomfortable quickly. Granted, Iggy could spin through the corridor inside of his shell and was probably the intended way to travel through it, but he decided to stay close to Penny.

“It's just annoying.” Penny continued. “There's no shower I would guess, so I have to live with it.”

“You lived with hating me for a long time.” Iggy pointed out. 

Penny smiled. “Yes I did. And I got used to it. Maybe I'll get used to this.”

“I think you'll be fine.” said Iggy. “You're complaining now, but you'll get used to it soon enough and it won't even bother you.”

“You already know me too well.”

“You say that like it's a bad thing.”

“We all have something to hide, Iggy.”

“Yeah, I know.” he said flatly. It took a moment for what he meant to sink in.

“Okay, so you already know all of that without me saying a word about it. I still don't see how that's fair.”

“It's not about fairness, it's about absolute trust.” said Iggy. “There are no secrets when you know everything about the other, even from yourself.”

“Is that why you're offering me the wand?” she asked.

“That's one reason.” Iggy admitted, looking back at her. “You'll know everything about me then and we'll have nothing to hide from each other.”

“I'm sorry...I'm still having a hard time believing you can know everything about me.” said Penny.

“Do you remember that time in 6th grade when you went out with your first crush, Paul?”

Penny blushed immediately at his name. “So what about it?”

“When people are afraid of judgment then they have something to hide. That was a learning experience, but not all people operate that way. I'm offering you the other half of my wand because I have nothing to hide.”

Penny was quiet at that and Iggy decided to let her think about it. After a time the ceiling lifted above their heads and they hurried out of the tunnel to stretch their muscles. They had entered a small room with a shiny metallic door that seemed untouched by age. It was circular and many lights surrounded its multiple circumferences. After walking up to the device, Iggy could see that the circles within the larger circumference were moving on their own with various lights flashing on and off. These lights were marked in some type of sequence, but Iggy could not make out what they meant. But as soon as he touched it, Erzembar's voice boomed in all directions.

“Mark 1A, move Matrix 9, depolarizing 3B. Recalibrating westbridge. Synchronization error, offset 2.8. Poles on Mark 2A repolarized, Matrix 8 unstable, shutting down. Debugging Mark 1A. Quartz array damaged...”

“Hey! Erzembar!” Iggy shouted.

“Detection of the 3rd dimensional vernacular. Analyzing source...contains particle 166, signature of Koopa's white wand detected. Rewriting priority. Shutting down array.” Suddenly, all the lights on the door shut off and the circles stopped moving. “Ah, you have arrived. I must thank you for your presence. The icosahedron matrix that was damaged from the Kermillion fault had overridden my master command parameters, throwing the recovery process into an endless loop due to damaged quartz arrays.”

“Oh.” Iggy was somewhat lost.

“Do you happen to have a 12 inch double terminated purified quartz with you?”

“Um...” Iggy looked back at Penny who simply mouthed “How should I know?” before he turned back around. “The elevator is not functioning, so I'm not able to reach any storage rooms that might have them.”

“Then the only solution is to remove the core.” said Erzembar. “The temple complex cannot be directly run from this broken matrix. However, if the core is removed and brought to certain locations within said complex, then it may be remotely activated from there.”

“Every time I see you, I see a bright light.” Iggy explained. “I cannot see how large the core is. Will it fit through the passage we just came through?”

“It will.” Erzembar responded. “But that will not be necessary as I will explain in time. Before you enter, the room must be decontaminated. Powering down all nodes.” A vocal hum was heard decreasing in pitch. A whooshing noise was heard for several moments before ceasing. “Complete. Opening doorway.” The door seemingly deconstructed itself and parted into the walls, revealing a fantastic circular chamber. Walking inside, Iggy could see a vast array of emitters, each fitted with long terminated crystals all pointing in deliberate directions. Some were drilled inside the walls while others stuck upwards from the floor. All of these were off now, save for a glowing orb situated upon a platform in the center of the room.

“Greetings.” said Erzembar, with the orb growing dark.

“So, this is your true form.” Iggy said as a matter of fact.

“My true form has long since decomposed under the sands.” said Erzembar. “This is but a copy of its consciousness at that time, evolved over the ages with new experiences but not a spiritual entity by any means. However, it was in my true form's interests to see the descendants of Koopa survive and prosper, and to this end I am still willing to help you now. This matrix is not the only way to operate the complex. There is another control location which lies outside of the main temple which I shall lead you to. First, please pick up the orb as I will teleport you to this location.” A cloudy image was displayed within the orb giving the relative looks of the area. Being a desert, it just looked like it was somewhere outside.

“Penny, hold onto me.” Iggy asked casually.

“I'll hold your hand.” she said, clasping his claw instead. “It's not like we're movie heroes.”

Iggy took Erzembar into his other hand, and mere moments later they found themselves in the middle of the desert under a cloudy gloom. The complex lay to their southeast and they could see dots on the eastern horizon. Judging by how small they were, Iggy guessed they were at least 1 to 1.5 miles away from the campsite. The people there seemed to be in some state of panic with general chaos running in the camp.

“Be calm, friends.” Iggy said telepathically to all of them. “I have survived. I am fixing the situation. Please wait.” This calmed everyone down in the vicinity almost instantly before they began asking each other if they had heard the same thing. Smiling, Iggy looked at Erzembar for further instruction.

“This way.” said the orb, somehow turning itself in his hands with a beam of light pointing to a certain direction into the desert. They walked in that direction for about 5 minutes with nothing happening in particular save for listening to the chilly wind blowing over the sandy morass and the moaning of the Earth from aftershocks.

“Here.” The two stopped immediately. “Please use a spell to unearth what lies in front of you. It is approximately 6 feet below us.”

Iggy handed Erzembar to Penny, who reluctantly took the orb as Iggy prepared a spell. A whirlwind whipped up in front of him and vast amounts of sand was sucked into the air. The campers far off took notice and stared at the spectacle, thinking that the Spirit King was about to return. But they were disappointed when the tornado suddenly exploded, sending sand in nearly all directions. Some of them decided to head in that general direction, afraid that something was wrong.

Iggy looked below and saw that he had unveiled a small ancient building, perhaps no larger than 20 feet by 20 feet. But he also saw the worshipers beginning to make their way towards him and knew that he had to get this over with quickly.

“They definitely saw that.” Iggy muttered before jumping into the small bit below him. Penny looked more hesitant. “I think I'll stay up here and keep a look out.” she said. 

“Then listen to my instructions.” said Erzembar. “Upon entering breaker room 2B, you will find a large rod attached to a rotor in the floor. Move this towards you by two notches.”

Iggy walked inside and indeed it was no larger than a small storage house. More of the “decorative lines” were seen etched along the walls, all of them arriving at the lever at the back of the room. He saw little lines drawn next to it on the floor and he immediately took hold of the lever and moved it down two notches. There was the noise of gears and machinery below the surface. However, nothing immediately happened in Iggy's vicinity.

“What now?” Iggy called back.

“Pull the lever upwards.” came Erzembar's reply and Iggy did precisely that. He was surprised that it came out several feet from the floor, and eventually a clamp disengaged to allow the rest of it to be pulled out: a bulbous end that seemed to glow white. Below it there was a large white crystal that glowed in response before being lowered into the floor. Amidst a loud rumbling that shook the area, the bottom of the lever suddenly flashed before an intricate network of lines flowed down the sides. Iggy chuckled. This was no ordinary lever.

“That's clever. Hide it in plain sight!” Iggy exclaimed, walking back outside. Looking up, he did not see Penny on the edge and so he jumped upwards to the edge of the pit, landing successfully. He found Penny a few feet away, too busy watching the spectacle unfold in front of her to notice Iggy behind her. The sand seemed to wash aside as a variety of shapes rose out of the depths. The first were long vertical, rectangular columns paired up in an endless variety of formations. Then came the walls, smooth on the edges with a number of drawings carved into its faces. The rock itself seemed to be a mix of varieties, from sandstone, a variety of dark grey to even marble as the ground began to be seen. There were large open spaces within the enclosure and Iggy guessed that this was the garden that Erzembar had alluded to earlier.

“Indeed, these are the gardens of Plebertine.” said Erzembar, answering his thoughts. “They were designed to be the food source following a pole shift and its violent effects. Due to the Kermillion fault expanding directly perpendicular to the control center following this latest adjustment, I felt it wise to activate these gardens before all control is potentially lost.”

“I take it this is your wand?” Iggy asked, eying the intricate designs that resembled more of a piece of circuitry.

“Yes.” replied Erzembar. “It controls the surrounding area, the former center of the Koopa Empire. For now, the current set up should be sufficient for a pole shift colony. Until the damage done to my complex is repaired, I recommend settling within the chambers of the Temple of the Hammer, the shelter of my oldest grandson.”

“I didn't know it had a shelter to begin with.” said Iggy, looking to the large pyramid to their north. Now that he remembered it, he never got a chance to fully explore the area in the first place despite it being one of the most prominent features of the landscape.

“It was the shelter of Marthos the Hammer.” stated Erzembar. “Though few have used it since, it had remained steadfast in the face of calamity and should serve you well with the population currently following you.”

“I think you need to say something to them before they run wild.” Penny interjected, “They're running out this way now.” 

“Yeah, I see them.” said Iggy. “This gives me an idea.” They were drawing close to the gardens and much of them had stopped, not sure if they should proceed.

“Greetings to everyone!” Iggy telepathically relayed, making them all stop in their tracks. “This is the King of the Spirit Iggy Koopa speaking. Yes, I am alive and yes, I dug up a little surprise for you all. Gardens! Very old gardens, and we have seeds to plant them in. But we aren't doing this for free! Here's the catch. If you want to live here, then you need to help rebuild and maintain the gardens. This means planting seed, maintaining the plants as well as harvesting. I'm not going to force you, but if you choose not to grow your own food, then I will kindly ask you to leave. I'm in the process of opening up some shelters, so if you want a place to stay and grow your own food, then you will have a place to stay. And don't think that I won't catch you mooching off of other people. I can see what you are all doing. Please do your part so I don't have to kick you out. For now, if you would like to help clean up the gardens, then you may. I will speak again when the shelter is ready, which should be sometime today. Thank you for your patience.”

Some headed into the gardens immediately, but many others dropped to the ground and began praying in the Spirit King's name.

“I hate it when they do that.” Iggy muttered. He took out the Spirit Wand. “Let's go to that temple.” Penny took hold of him and in a flash that caught people off guard, they teleported to the entrance of the Temple of the Hammer. 

“So where are these seeds coming from?” asked Penny as Iggy inspected the large stone door carved into an alcove in front of them.

“Erzembar has some in storage.” Iggy said, feeling the walls.

“They are meant to be planted during the aftertime.” said Erzembar. “The garden has risen up earlier than planned. Any seed planted now may not survive the coming cataclysms and thus a store of seed is required for survival.”

Iggy muttered something to himself as he took out the Wand of Erzembar and watched the door open automatically. In seeming response, lights lit up down the corridor, their source being a type of yellow crystal. 

“So you don't...” Penny murmured. “That's okay, you can use mine.”

“Are you sure?” Iggy asked as they walked inside. “I was about to ask you about your shelter. You should probably head down there.” 

“No, it's alright because I made my choice.”

“Hm?” But his inquiry was already answered as the door shut behind them. “Are you sure?” he asked tenderly.

Penny smiled. “I'm already living with you. It feels like I would be more of a help if I was on your level. You're right, I'm getting sick of not knowing what you're thinking about. I know it's your job, but it feels like I can't understand you completely unless we're fully connected. Is that okay with you?”

Iggy hummed to himself. “You can take the wand now, but I don't know if you can be initiated with Erzembar in its current state.”

“It is possible.” Erzembar replied. “However, with the malfunction of the matrix the initiation must be conducted by the other polarity solely.”

“Wonderful.” Iggy muttered.

“What do you recommend, Iggy?” Penny asked.

“I think you should hold on to the wand for a while before getting initiated.” said Iggy. “It takes some getting used to, and you'll know this as soon as you touch it. Your new form will be hard to control at first and you are needed especially right now. Even if I did it the hard way, there's no time for it. I have to get these people in here as soon as possible, not to mention thoroughly explore this place.” He sighed. “Let's do this slowly.”

Putting away Erzembar's wand, Iggy took of the Wand of the Spirit which glowed its usual bright white. “Let's do the same thing we did before, except a little longer.”

Placing the orb of Erzembar down for a moment, Penny reached out and touched the wand, and immediately her vision shifted in front of her with a number of planar realities encapsulating amongst each other. She felt a pain shoot up her arm racing to her brain, where it was numbed to a hot warmth. Her view of Iggy faltered between planescapes and shifting energies, and she almost didn't even notice herself slip forward.

“Woah!” Iggy grabbed Penny's shoulder with his other hand. “You're seeing reality and all its forms simultaneously. You must shift your perspective back to how I looked before this all began.”

But Penny struggled with this, overestimating her own self control. She was allowing the wands power to overwhelm her and she had to stop it. “Control it.” she whispered, using her strength to categorize the planes in her mind and shift the frequency back to normal. This took her some time, not only because of all the intricacies surrounding the inner workings of reality that was suddenly brought before her, but because she was unfamiliar with magic to begin with, essentially diving in cold turkey.

“Hold onto me.” said Iggy. “It'll help adjust your vision.” Sure enough, the transparent walls began to re-solidify back into a physical, Earthly morass and she used Iggy's vision as a guide for her own, eventually able to see her fiancée as he should have been seen. Wait, she was using his vision?  
“That's the start of it, anyway.” Iggy said, answering her thoughts. A shiver went down her spine and she felt her energy increasing tenfold. Suddenly, the Spirit Wand flashed for a moment before Penny was jerked back the other way. She now held the Spirit Wand in her hand as if it were her own. The wand had split!

Iggy kept a hold on her, well aware of her current situation. “You need to re-solidify reality back to the 3rd dimension. I know its dense, but that's the common plane everyone lives in.”

It just went to show you that you don't know some things until you actually saw them.

“That's okay, I'll help you through this.” said Iggy, becoming more normal now. That's right, she had an emotional connection with him. And he smiled in response, clearly happy seeing this. “I'm glad you made that choice.”

“I can see you better.” Penny said. “It's my curiosity.”

“Exactly, you need to control it.” Iggy stated. “Just focus.” Gradually, her vision did focus as she used her memory as a guide to what she should be seeing. Soon, Iggy was more or less the way he should have looked.

“This is going to take a while...” she said, righting herself.

“Let's try walking for now.” said Iggy, and after picking up the orb of Erzembar they slowly made their way down the hallway as Penny tried to adjust herself to her new reality. They passed by many corridors until they arrived at a central courtyard, complete with a statue in the center depicting King Marthos with his war hammer raised.

“Wow, this is such a big place.” Penny commented. “What's that on the top level? It looks like a seat.” She was looking through the many floors above her to the pinnacle of a pyramid.

“Do not sit there.” Erzembar warned. “That seat will automatically discarnate an entity from its vessel and you will become locked inside of a limbo of time, similar to what you have gone through King Iggy.”

“Okay, we're not even going up there.” Iggy quickly said. “Let's find those shelters and get these people in here. I'm getting hungry.”

Penny held onto Iggy's arm as they walked. “Thank you for believing in me. You are more beautiful than I thought.” 

Smiling, Iggy suddenly stopped and planted a kiss on her lips. “Looks like my patience paid off.”

“Yeah, I knew you always did.” Penny smirked. “But I had to see it for myself. I had a feeling it was real, and now I can see it's real. Thank you Iggy.” She couldn't help but kiss him again. Finally, what mistrust was left was completely gone and they could see each other in their entireties.

And with that they spent the rest of their time exploring the passages of the Temple, eventually finding a number of chambers below the ground level that would be suitable for short term living. Guiding the people inside the temple, Iggy then sent Penny off to her own shelter to try and begin their eventual merger of the whole area, something he should have done some time ago. It would be best if they worked as a unified whole instead of several separate entities. Tomorrow, he would begin repair work on Erzembar, something he was told was possible but would take a little more exploring. It seemed that Penny was getting used to the power of the wand quicker than he expected, something that he knew would only help in the long run. The time on relying on civilization to mend one's hurts was coming to an end. It was time to rely on people again.

* * *

Outside Genlic, people were trying to establish order amongst themselves after the adjustment the Earth had gone through. Some were tending the wounded in makeshift medical tents, others tried to find their loved ones in the mess and yet the more opportunistic of the race set in motion their machinations. Theft and rape circled about the camp, something King Larry Koopa had long worried about since the start. That was the nature of Koopa after all; all else was a ruse to play in a society now long broken. The true face of the Koopa animal was now coming out of hiding. Standing upon the top recesses of the fortress, that was all but evident below him and even the council around him seemed to reflect this same nature, hurriedly debating as to what to do next.

“You can't just go down there and expect everyone to listen to you.” Kooper reasoned, scratching his head. “They won't because at the end of the day, it's all about themselves and their families.”

“What else are we going to do?” asked Bombette. “We can't just leave them like this.”

“How much aid are we able to give them?” asked Mona.

Kooper sighed. “We have 46% surplus in all combined commodities, but much of that is back up in case we lose our capacity to grow crop. We could give, perhaps about 15-17% as charity.”

“Once you start giving shit to these people, it wont stop.” said Larry. “It's like opening a can of worms: you can't close it again without shedding some blood.”

“But they need help! We can't just leave them there.” argued Mona.

“And if I did give them food, what then?” Larry continued. “They would ask for more, so do we give them more? How long could you tolerate a group of moochers who always asks for more yet do nothing to make themselves more sustainable? If they don't plant some of the food that I give them, then it's a waste. No Mona, these people are stuck in the past. They think life will go on as before, even after what the pole shift does to the world. They are in denial.”

No one said anything, so Larry continued. “And people in denial go insane. I've made up my mind. Everyone knows the requirements to live inside this place. The fact that most of these people are looking for handouts, or a hand to hold says a lot about their intentions. If we give them food now, we'll be setting a precedent that will never go away.”

“So we're just going to leave them to starve?” Mona asked. “Don't you think that's a bit heartless?”

“Control your emotions, Mona.” Larry warned. “That's exactly how they want you to act.”

Mona sighed. “But it's still heartless. At least consider giving them some medical supplies.”

Larry thought for a moment, aware of the makeshift hospitals that lay below. “That's possible, but we can't give too much away. We need to keep our store at a reasonable level once the shift hits.”

“We could probably use maybe about 5-7% of what we have now in supply.” Kooper reasoned. “We just need to figure out how to distribute it best.”

But Larry was distracted, looking at a growing mob that stood at the walls of Genlic below him. Their demands included medical attention, as well as food and a better place to stay. “So they're complaining they can't get free stuff anymore.” he muttered. “The medical stuff is feasible, at least. But...” He traced where the mob was originating from farther inside the camp and found a skinny man trying to rile up the local populace. “...it's not going to work right now.” Taking out his Blood Wand, he pointed it at the man who was then instantly teleported to the back of the mob. He looked disgruntled for a moment before recognizing what just happened.

“Ahha! It's the Blood King!” said Waluigi. “It's nice to see you again, yes.”

“Hi Waluigi.” said Larry. “Why are you inciting a riot? I said I wasn't giving you a boat to cross the straight with.”

“Ahh! You don't understand the need, the need!” Waluigi exclaimed with a complimentary show of jazz hands. “I will see her, yes. That was a part of the plan you see. We must mate and make offspring. But the chasm must be crossed. I know you have a boat Blood King, yes, the one that crashed here. Where is it?”

“That wasn't a boat, Waluigi. It was from the Galaxy.” Larry explained. “And no, you can't have it. Do you think you can have it simply because you want it?”

“Yes!!!” Waluigi cried in frustration. “We must take the castle by force! Are you ready?” On cue, Waluigi unleashed the next part of his plan: the mob suddenly brandished fire flowers and lesser wands all pointed at the king above them. Larry merely snorted: this asshole just made things much worse than they should have been.

“Ready!” Waluigi signaled, but the Koopa was the quicker. In one motion, he took the Blood Wand and unleashed a force of magic at the group. With an explosion of rock and debris, they were scattered in all directions with Waluigi himself caught in the blast, not fast enough to avoid it. Thrown to the ground several feet away, he struggled to get up while cussing to himself.

“Anyone who attacks me or this place will be attacked in like kind.” Larry growled. “You have your answer, now leave! And anyone of like kind may leave as well. You are not welcome here. Do you think I'm going to hold your hand through these disasters? I made my point clear back in the Koopa Kingdom: if you want to survive, you must rely on yourself. Gather your own seed, grow your own food. Even eating insects will make you see another day. But stealing from others is not self sustainable because your loot will run out, and what then? You turn on each other and you will die. If you want that kind of life, then go follow Waluigi wherever he decides to roam. But do not expect handouts if you stay here because that is not my intent. We were talking about medical aid up here in light of what's happened, but until Waluigi and his followers decide to leave then I will be unable to help. I'm not sending my men on a suicide mission.”

That seemed to do it as a rush of voices filled the air in complaint wanting the crazed plumber to leave. Eventually, Waluigi walked off to the north, not saying a word as a large group of people followed him. 

“You're just going to let them go like that?” Kooper seemingly chastised, folding his arms. 

“It's better than letting them stay here.” said Larry. “Even the worst case, if they form up and organize a strike on this place, they don't stand much of a chance.”

“You sound pretty confident.” Kooper said.

“You don't know what Genlic is capable of.” said Larry. The cries below distracted him from his thoughts again. The victims of the blast were sprawled about, many with severed limbs and fractured bones crying for help. Amateur doctors tried to help some of them, but they were clearly lacking the necessary supplies. Larry sighed at the sight. “Send out the medical unit. In the meantime we'll have to review our own internal audit and see what needs to be done.” 

“Well, I can tell you that we have no new fault lines.” Kooper said. “This is pretty solid rock. But I agree, we need to get back to our own business.” 

“Oh, and those with broken limbs. Have some magic users go out there and try to reattach them.” Larry instructed. “That was my fault, but they should be fine once they're looked over.” He was glad that he decided to keep a small contingent of magic users in the fortress despite the risk of the UmNaru at the time. Their preservation of magic was already becoming handy. In the meantime, he turned and headed back inside the fortress along with the rest of the council deciding to take care of their own needs.

* * *

High above in the skies floated Ludwig's Castle, steadying herself after being blasted with wind currents from the planetary adjustment. Queen Kylie Koopa, now in her last stage of gestation tried to keep herself from feeling nauseous from all the turning and twisting that the winds brought to her doorstep, or in this case her “airlock step.”

“I wish I could drink something right now.” she muttered, leaning back on the chair again. Ahead of her was King Ludwig Von Koopa piloting the vessel as best as he could despite the turmoil.

“You are almost there, dear.” he responded. “My current prediction is less than a week, then the incubation period may begin.”

“2 days.” Kylie insisted, holding up the same amount of claws. 

“And I must insist that the count will be eight individuals.” Ludwig reasoned, “The conclusion deriving from any fatherly intuition that may exist.”

“Are you done rocking the ship back and forth?” Kylie whined, getting sick of the nausea.

“You would have to ask Naru for an answer to that inquiry,” said Ludwig, “as I am merely reacting to its pressure.”

“Well, where are we now?” Kylie asked.

“We are above the original landing zone of the castle.” said Ludwig. “Instruments report little movement in the area from local inhabitants. The heat sensory array has delineated a line of bodies moving to our location from the south, implying that the migrational caravan is fast approaching.”

“You know, I've been thinking.”

“Hm?”

“Since those politicians backstabbed you, who's going to take their place?” she asked.

“I have a plan.” Ludwig simply replied.

“Do you?”

“Admittedly, it was originally the primary back up plan in the event an attempted usurpation of power was carried out. Due to said event, I can no longer allow the formally wealthy to step into my creation. Neither can I allow my soon-to-be former militia, who have proven themselves to be susceptible to bribery and incitements of power, gain any authority over my structure.”

“So what do you plan on doing?” Kylie asked curiously. “Because if most of your old circle just wants the whole pie instead of a tiny piece, then who's going to actually live here?”

“The entire hierarchy must be reorganized.” Ludwig put bluntly. “The social system created over the centuries does not function well in such an environment of change and decay. The focus of status and self interest is unaffordable in such a case, with the primary need switching to function. When the caravan arrives to our location, my expectations of mobs, riots and the willing ignorance of authority will be rather high. They are programmed since birth to expect such a social structure, with the environment of said programming now broken. They will no longer listen to authority still bounded by the rules of the old world. Therefore, their programming must first be broken.”

“They might just form up their own groups and not even listen to you.” Kylie warned.

“I am aware of the consequences.” said Ludwig. “But I cannot idle or repeat what my forefathers have done. If I am unable to re-earn their respect then this position will become more...precarious.”

Kylie said nothing, well aware of the difficult position Ludwig was in as he attempted to reestablish the sanctity of the Earth monarchs, ruined by the UmNaru's corruption. She was in no position to help with her current pregnancy and knew better than to do otherwise until it was over. But when it was over, she wasn't going to just sit around and talk with her eggs every hour. It was clear her husband needed help and would not be able to calm the population alone, especially with Lemmy's expected departure. 

Much time passed before the first began to arrive at the location below them: a small Koopa outpost made up of a population less than one thousand who were well informed of the new King's intentions. The first caravan that arrived was the one led by Crown Prince Lemmy Koopa. Moving in fast to make up for lost time, he quickly settled in and met with the mayor of the town to discuss their intentions. But the mayor seemed nervous about the whole plan, something which didn't escape Lemmy's notice.

“Something wrong?” Lemmy asked. “Besides everything else that's wrong?”

“I don't trust that guy.” the mayor said, pointing up at the sky above him. “He's got a flying fortress and thousands of people chasing after him. Do you think we'll find peace if he decides to make this his capital? He has technology and we've only kept what we can still use. That's a huge advantage over us. Why do you think he needs that much to survive when we're going back to the basics down here?”

“Well, people are coming after him.” Lemmy explained. “There was a failed coup against him earlier but he and Queen Kylie survived. A lot of people wanted to take out Bowser in those days, and now that he's gone I think many are using Ludwig as the target for their anger. Hell, some have framed him to be the scapegoat....which is not really fair.”

“It's never fair when you're the head.” said the mayor. “But that's not my point. I know there's people after him, politics are always like that. I want to know what his intentions are. Building a castle here on the ground would have been a different story if he had done that. But with something like he has now, I would think that he has something different in mind.”

“Honestly, I don't exactly know.” Lemmy admitted. “I just speculate. I think I know, but do I really? Not until the unveiling! Whatever happens, this is still politics and I want nothing to do with it. As soon as King Ludwig makes his speech I'm heading back to my own shelter up north.”

The mayor frowned at that, something Lemmy had grown to get used to recently. It seemed nobody wanted to stay around Ludwig's Castle due their own fears of what the King intended, not to mention the “baggage” it tended to drag behind.

“I wish I could come with you.” said the mayor, “But unfortunately I cannot.”

“Well, I live near the north pole anyway.” said Lemmy. “It's not for everyone. I think they're missing out.”

“Never mind then.” he muttered. “I will still send word around the area about what you plan on doing. But I'll keep it lower than a hush, as I got a feeling the King don't want anybody to leave.”

“That's fine.” Lemmy chimed, and with that he returned to his ship, still cloaked within the atmosphere and looking straight at Ludwig's Castle that seemed to float in place without making any real maneuvers. He found several lights flashing, indicating an incoming call.

“Greetings...Clown Prince Lemuel.” said Ludwig.

“Wow, I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that.” Lemmy said, somewhat impressed.

“For all intents and purposes, I must be forced to call your person the Prince of the Earth if such a title exists, but until such positions are clarified I believe you shall be called what you desire.” explained Ludwig. 

Lemmy hummed. “So what is this about?”

“I am about to introduce a proposed system of government to the current populace that now resides below us.” said Ludwig. “This is of course pending with the arrival of Morton Koopa Junior, whom I believe should be at the gate any moment now.”

Of course, Ludwig knew this already as he could see them entering the gate as he spoke. It took Lemmy a moment to see the same and he suddenly wondered why Morton had not radioed him upon his arrival. Instead, he pushed forward and seemed to mingle with the rest of Lemmy's own party. Lemmy guessed that he had his own plan for doing this. 

“Yeah, I see him.” Lemmy replied. “He just pulled in.”

“Excellent, then I will begin my speech momentarily.” Ludwig stated. “I assume you plan on departing the premises soon after the commencement of governance?”

“Yeah, I need to get back to my shelter ASAP.” Lemmy replied. “I was supposed to arrive days ago as it is so the sooner I fly out that way, the better.”

“Very well.” And with that the link went dead. Lemmy instinctively reopened the radio and switched to Morton's frequency. “Kzzzzt Alpha 9, this is your conscious speaking, over. Kzzzzzzt.” Lemmy playfully relayed. But no reply came, and it seemed Morton did not want to play with him just then. It seemed he had his own plans, which he did not want to be known quite yet.

Ludwig's Castle descended through the atmosphere until it became clear enough to be distinguished for what it was. It hovered only about 500 feet above the ground and upon its descent many headed towards it with many different intentions in mind. Some yelled, some were quiet and yet others had concealed weapons that were all but an open secret to those among them.

“Greetings.” boomed Ludwig's voice. “We have at last arrived in the Koopai Valley, the new home for the Koopa Kingdom. The journey was not without struggle and hazards, both from the reformation of the Earth's crust as well as those vying for power against my position. I apologize for the attempted coup that indeed took place earlier on the eastern slopes of the valley. It is unfortunate that I remain such a target for those who believe due diligence is required from my father's administration when it is clearly not my liability as my father's error of judgment is clear. Do we require our sons to pay for our father's sins? I do not recall such a policy ever becoming enacted. Surely this is one of the core tenants of slavery, is it not? And surely, those against me would greatly desire this result: a slave force bent to their every whim, with few rights and no leniency for mistakes. I am here to say that is not my intent. If you believe so despite what my person is about to express, then you will have options available to you as I will explain at the end of my explanation.

“The current structure brought from the Old Kingdom has little place in a new society that must emerge as the example the world must mold into if it is to survive. The ideas of social class, currency, prejudice, racism and many other selfish and harmful behaviors must be cast aside for a new mode of thought. Industry as it was once known will no longer be prevalent, which relied upon raping the Earth of her minerals and returning to it the waste byproducts that have slowly annihilated what beauty in nature is left to behold. Indeed, it is Koopa's nature that has brought us to this, influenced and encouraged by a group behind the faces of authority that desired absolute control before their inevitable fall and castration from power. The faces you knew remain, but they now stand clothed in garments of their own design as many of those who are empathetic may attest. Indeed, my intent for a new Koopa Kingdom begins with its very foundation as the old one, built centuries ago upon divisive and selfish hatred no longer serves the purpose of our race. 

“My first proposition is thus: the elimination of the social class structure, which is involuntarily based upon the level of wealth an individual may carry namely in the form of currency. The idea itself implores one to crawl above their peers in triumph, no matter how many skulls must be crushed in order to reach the pinnacle of civilization. As this inevitably creates a divisive society, such a class system will no longer exist. In fact, any class based upon currency will no longer exist because as of this moment, currency is hereby abolished.”

To Ludwig's surprise, there was a general silence below him as the people absorbed his words, some talking amongst themselves. Deciding that he was finally telling them what they wanted to hear, he continued. “It is said that money is the root of all evil. Well then, why not rid of it? The idea of wealth has become distorted over the generations as technological advancements grew alongside the industry created consumerism epidemic. Believing themselves to be the Koopa King or Koopa Queen of their own households, it has successfully placated the people from revolting against King Bowser's UmNaru influenced policies. This mindset, a sure byproduct of consumerism is now an obsolete mode of thought as the practice of self sustainability will be what ensures our survival. Therefore, aside from the initial start up campaign of assisting households, do not expect handouts from my person. This complex does not serve as a limitless food bank and neither does it serve to maintain one's lifestyle indefinitely. One may question my position in such a complex, but leads to my next proposition.

“Due to the abolishment of currency, the value of wealth must be reassigned. That which sustains our bodies and our spirits should logically be taken as the greatest wealth one could accrue. Grown crops, knowledge of green technology, musicians and writers are some of the examples that bring the greatest wealth to one's life. It is not the systematic taking of wealth and the product that is acquired that creates lasting happiness. It is the sharing of such knowledge and activities with others that creates lasting happiness, and this is what we must return to. Therefore, how does one live in a society if wealth is defined by that which brings us the most happiness? The second proposition: the reintroduction of the bartering system.

“Stemming back from the medieval ages and beyond, this system is very simple to understand and operate. For example, I shall repair your leather soles if you will play a song for my sick daughter. A very simple illustration of what a system is capable of doing. The consumerist policy has created an atmosphere of mistrust amongst one's neighbors, even to one's self to the point that self absorption is not an uncommon practice to help stem one's increased fear of others. The bartering system naturally alleviates this by forcing others to trust each other or face starvation and death in many cases. A system of self governance cannot survive without the trust placed in each other and I believe it is high time to return to such a proven system. This will encompass everything imaginable that currency once covered. Now, the exchange is no longer product for currency, but favor for favor. 

“Building upon this society based more on skill than by class, we now reach the 3rd proposition. As I've stated, I do not plan on doling out any assistance as was previously done within the former societal complex. This includes a centralized state of governance from the apex down. This is what I must assume is feared the most, as with such a structure such as my castle such a system of governance may be easily imposed. Perhaps my enemies may have assumed I would have done such a thing, but they are wrong as I've already demonstrated. A bartering system is not compatible with a top down system of government ruled upon fear, which breeds mistrust. Therefore, the system of governance itself must also be changed. No longer will the decisions for the land be made behind the walls of the king or deliberated by nobles who hardly know of the lives under them. I hereby establish the People's Committee effective immediately, which will serve as the executive wing of power for the entire area. Government will be based upon consensual decision making, rather than relying upon a representative to relay the wishes of the people. Issues will be solved by the people themselves, no matter what skill you may obtain or practice and thus everyone will get a say as to how policy should proceed. Gone are days of the political figureheads who awed and swayed vast populations all in support of a greedy monarch. Speaking of which, said monarchs will still remain due to the necessary functions of maintaining such a race, but their executive powers will be greatly diminished to no more than the same power a common person may have in the committee. Nevertheless, all final resolutions will appear before the King and Queen who must duly decide if such a practice is an acceptable law of the land. If retracted however, the people may again vote on the same issue and if passed again, the law bypasses said monarchs and takes effect immediately. This ensures maximum transparency and efficiency without bureaucracy or politics deciding such matters. 

“As I have explained, the chief problem is the nature of Koopa. While we as a species create vast ideas and genius solutions, our selfish nature has ruined their execution in the past and has ultimately corrupted what good had remained of our civilization. It is my hope that these introduced propositions will help address and alleviate these problems while reestablishing a common denominator between ourselves, the foundation of any great kingdom. Of course, you are free to vote upon a new system of governance should the opinion of my model be disenchanting to your selves. However, it is in my view that this is the ideal way to step forward as a species.

“The last point that must be addressed is one regarding the use of militia. Such a force is based upon the insecurity of control and while not wholly unnecessary in such a proposed idealized state of society, those who seek to take advantage of such a situation may do so, pleasuring themselves believing to have changed the outcome. This is not so, for while the military will no longer serve the aspiration of absolute control, their existence is not without purpose. Due to said interests who may seek to eliminate my person, the militia will become disuniformed and seemingly blend with the rest of the population in order to ensure the stability of the proposed plan. Of course, if you the people decide otherwise then a simple vote in the Committee will dissolve such an entity. For the time being, I believe that they will provide a smooth transition towards this new society with an atmosphere of cooperation.

“Of course, if you may decide that this new proposed system of government is not to your liking, then you are free to leave the land as you wish. The Crown Prince Lemuel Koopa will be departing shortly for his homeland in the far north and has extended an invitation to those who wish to join him. But once again, self sustainability is a requirement in his shelter so do not expect a return to normalcy. Those days have gone and past, and we must support our own persons to survive. Do not expect my brothers to think differently for the very idea of consumerism was a grand luxury brought about by industry and overcapitalism. On the brink of annihilation, such luxuries are no longer affordable and the return to a simpler lifestyle becomes the most prominent solution. Again, I must implore you to reconsider what constitutes wealth within your lives, because a simpler lifestyle finds the greatest wealth in what keeps us living and motivated to see another day. Thank you for your understanding and I hope you join us in this transition.”

There was an applause that rose up from below, but Ludwig knew that they had a lot to digest and their real opinion remained to be seen as time went forward. He hoped that he would not have to resort to using the castle's defensive weaponry if a situation presented a need for it.

“You never told me any of this you know.” Kylie complained, prompting Ludwig to spin his chair towards her. “But it doesn't matter because I fucking loved it.”

“Which is why I did not bother informing your person, as I was confident you would approve it upon listening.” grinned Ludwig.

“Pfft. Sure. Big boy here thinks it's okay without telling me.” Kylie teased. “There were a few things I had with it. Why didn't you tell them about those big guns you have on this thing?”

“Because I anticipate any potential attack on us to be within the realms of subterfuge and espionage.” Ludwig said. “And within such realms, the less information the enemy knows, the better. Plus, making a public display of such weaponry would counteract the proposals I have laid out, reinstilling a power of fear over others.”

“So those watching can see where they deploy and they mark that.”

“Yes, precisely.”

“Okay, I'll chew on that.” Kylie said. “But you'll have to explain why you didn't say anything about getting some staff for this place.”

“This would have created an unnecessarily long line of candidates aggressively vying for the few positions available.” explained Ludwig. “I feel it is better to interview candidates one position at a time instead of having each position filled simultaneously.”

“To not swamp the place. Alright.” Kylie nodded. “I can accept that. Now why didn't you say anything about the kids?”

“One does not reveal the nest to a pack of smorgs.” Ludwig explained. “Aside from receiving the news in the Old Kingdom, their focus is now upon their immediate future and what my plans are regarding this. While I could have included a status update of your current gestation, I believed this to be distracting from the current issues at hand. Besides, would your person desire to tell the people that you are in the most vulnerable stage of pregnancy?” 

Kylie muttered something about Ludwig's logic. “Well, say something when the eggs are laid because its going to be soon.”

“I will.” he simply stated before spinning back around to the console. Flipping a few switches, he took the radio and called Lemmy again.

“I see you have begun your departure?” Ludwig asked, taking note on the activities below him.

“Yup! We're flying out of here!” Lemmy replied. 

“Then I wish you well on your journey, though doubtless the trek should prove to be an easy one.” said Ludwig. “Just do not mind those who have decided to follow you.” 

“I knew that would happen, so its no big surprise.” said Lemmy. “Oh yeah, I can't get a hold of Morton. Did he say anything to you?”

“I have not received communications from Morton as of yet.” Ludwig replied. “This is somewhat troublesome. I will attempt to solve the issue in the meantime ad locate his whereabouts.”

“I don't know if your speech did something to him or if it's something else, but his radio is quiet. I don't know. Okay, time to go. Bon voyage!”

“Farewell.” And with that Lemmy's ship flew northward followed by a large group of people using what remained of the jeeps and the gas that went along with them, with chained tires for better traction in the snowy north. With Lemmy gone, he knew that some of the glue that helped keep everyone together was now gone. Ludwig needed to rely on his newly proposed system along with the good nature of Koopa...at least what remained of it.

As Lemmy traveled on into the distance, Morton wondered if he was doing the right thing. The migration was over and people were settling down with a plan that he did not expect. The lack of a military or any kind of protection opened up the possibility of invasion, either from internal strife or outside interference. Ludwig may have his ideals, but to Morton they seemed impractical. People were out for their own gain, so why would they consider other's needs unless it would help them gain more? Without any sort of protection, people could steal from each other until there was nothing left. For now, Morton decided to ponder his next course of action, not by what his other brother's believed in but by what he believed in.


	38. The Second Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While reconstructing Erzembar after the planetary adjustment, Iggy becomes agonized by a growing chorus of voices stemming from a now chaotic Koopa Kingdom. He forces the monarchs to hold a second meeting of the council to try and discover why King Ludwig is not addressing the issue.

A block of sandstone weighing five tons floated through the air towards the last remaining affix point near the top of a large pyramid. Utilizing an exotic looking contraption, Iggy Koopa navigated the last remaining weather stone into place before pressing a button that fused the stone into place, leaving no cracks. It was an ancient device for sure, dug up under instruction from Erzembar to help reconstruct the complex of the same Koopa, with the technology being Naru in origin. It was probably one of the reasons why the complex looked so well built. 

With his job finally completed, Iggy twisted his seat and hopped down from the mechanism but abruptly stopped as the voices suddenly returned in full force. They had started the night before when his brother, King Ludwig made his proclamation for the new Koopa Kingdom and while the citizens at first seemed open to the idea, it was clear that things weren't working out. Piercing the otherwise silence of the desert, Iggy could see arguments erupting in the so-called People's Committee, clearly unable to reach any kind of consensus. Of course he knew that this would happen, he saw his brother's thoughts before they even manifested. What annoyed him was that Ludwig was seemingly doing nothing to help fix the mess. Holed up inside a makeshift hospital room with his pregnant wife, he was too busy comforting Kylie to respond to the rest of the mess. There were reasonable excuses, and then there was a track record of reasonable excuses. How did they occur and why?

Looking across the sands, Iggy watched his followers setting up tents and other shelters surrounding the Temple of the Hammer with hardly an argument between them, save for the expected mundane problems that came with survival living. They got along just fine and knew what had to be done, and very few whined and complained about it. It was a testament to the polarization that was in progress across the planet as it ascended towards the 4th density, but Iggy knew that few people would care about that now. It was now a game of survival and the soul within would dictate its own outcome. It was clear that the souls present within the new Kingdom were immature, especially considering their current lack of agreement on what to do next. For Iggy, their constant arguing was becoming agonizing and he needed a solution to this problem as soon as possible. Ludwig was not going to solve this, nor did he intend to and that was unacceptable.

“Penny.” Iggy telepathically relayed to his partner, “Erzembar has been fully repaired. The initiation sequence should now work properly as long as the checks go through.” Inside the complex, Penny Crygor was seated on the spiral seat (as she now called it) and was running a few programs past Erzembar, which had been reseated inside of its chamber core below.

“No errors are coming up.” she commented. “It seems like the rest of the crystals were undamaged during the earthquake. Erzembar is going through a cycle sequence that resembles some type of boot up--”

“Start up complete.” came Erzembar's booming voice. The metallic contraption on the back wall lit up and the lights surrounding the spiral seat did so as well. But Penny looked annoyed. “You didn't have to cut me off you know.”

“My apologies.” said Erzembar. “I do not like others to know of my internal workings.”

“And yet we went down there to try to save you earlier!” Penny pointed out. “You use a crystal matrix shaped like an icosahedron which serves as a database that can store information and can somehow bend time at will. I don't see why you need to hide anything from me now, or Iggy.”

“Iggy was allowed to do so because of his current status as the Spirit King.” explained Erzembar. “Normally, I do not allow outsiders to understand my functions, much less those outside of the Koopa race.”

“Erzembar.” said Iggy, his voice somehow echoing throughout the chamber. “Please do not consider Penny to be anything less than myself, simply because she is a human. After she is initiated, please treat her like you treat me.”

“This will be done once the initiation is complete.” Erzembar replied.

Iggy rolled his eyes. “Then prepare the initiation.” he ordered. Erzembar began to charge the yellow crystal that hanged high above Penny's head. “Sounds like you're having an annoying day.” she commented in her head.

“It's just starting I'm afraid.” Iggy said as he reburied the antigravity machine. “I need to start a Meeting with my brothers because the Koopa Kingdom is spinning out of control right now.”

“I would have to be a part of that now, won't I?” Penny asked.

“Yeah, that's going to be interesting.” said Iggy. “If you're initiated before the Meeting is over, then I'll come and check up on you but you'd also have to attend it yourself.”

“Then why are you starting the meeting now?” Penny complained. “I want to at least get used to whatever upgraded form I will be getting soon.”

“This is not just about what's happening in the Kingdom.” explained Iggy. “I'm sure you've heard some of the voices in my mind.”

“I can hear some of them now.” she said. “But they are not very loud.”

“They will be ten times worse once you become Queen of the Spirit.” said Iggy. “They are the voices of a Kingdom in trouble. I need to begin the process of stopping them and the Meeting is the first step to that. Plus, we went through a major adjustment across the planet and a full report from each shelter would be quite useful.”

“If you put it that way...” Penny sighed. “I already hate politics.”

“Welcome to the life of a monarch.” said Iggy. “I'll be with you the whole time, so they shouldn't give you a hard time.”

“But I'm a human, what will they think of that?” she couldn't help but ask.

“Penny, listen. This is the end of the world. When everybody is dying from disasters, the only thing that's going to matter is love. Love is what will keep us all alive. In the long term, these politics may have a lasting impact on the landscape but they will do nothing to the love that we have. Don't take any of them personally.”

Penny smiled. If there was one thing she loved about the Koopa, it was his innate ability to smash through her fears as if they were nothing. She couldn't wait to return the favor. “You're right, I must think from the heart. Go on then, I'll join you when I'm done.” 

Iggy smiled for his part. “Okay dear.” he said half amused. He already sounded like an old koop. Switching gears, he turned towards the east to the direction of the Eternal Fortress Genlic.

“Larry, please get up.” Iggy relayed. “We need to take care of this.”

* * *

Inside his bedroom, Larry Koopa was fast asleep with his arm around a naked Mona, his new “bedmate” as he called her. It was certainly one solution to cure the loneliness that he felt inside of his heart, and at the very least Mona actually offered good advice and knew that she was feeling the same way. But that was his fault, wasn't it? That long standing issue...

“Larry, please get up.” came Iggy's voice. Larry opened his eyes. “Why, what's going on?” he replied.

“We need to have a Meeting as soon as possible.” came Iggy's reply. “The Kingdom is falling apart, the citizens are going mad under Ludwig's new proposed system of rule and it's simply not working. He's not doing anything about it.”

That last part made Larry get out of bed promptly. “What do you mean he's not doing anything about it?” he replied. “That's his job.” But he looked at the situation himself and realized what Iggy was talking about. The People's Committee was a rowdy mess with no one coming to any sort of order, but what was more disturbing was how Morton was trying to take advantage of the situation and form a group on his own. Immediately the polarization came into his mind and he realized he needed to monitor this one.

“No, you're right.” said Larry. “We've gotta do something about this. I take it we're meeting at the top of that summit like the last time?”

“That's what I had in mind.” said Iggy. 

“Hey Larry, what's up?” he heard Mona say.

“Alright, I'll be there in a second.” said Larry, turning to Mona. “Looks like I have to fix something I've put off for a while.”

“More like too busy to fix.” said Mona, wrapping the covers around her breasts. “I don't even want to get out of bed after yesterday.” 

“I know, it sucks.” said Larry. “To be honest you're right. I really didn't have time to fix this and now its a mess. One of those things, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know what you mean.” Mona moaned in her sleepy stupor. Larry walked over to a desk on the far back wall that contained drawers of dried plant matter and a few glass jars. Opening one of these drawers, he took out a pair of leaves and crushed them in his hand before putting the remains inside one of the jars. He moved the jar to a faucet built into the desk and filled the jar with lukewarm water. He promptly drank the whole thing in one go before walking over to his shell and putting it on.

“Hey, you're going to fall asleep when you get back, right?” Mona asked.

“Yeah, probably.” said Larry.

“Cause I'll open the meeting tomorrow. You go through enough as it is, I don't want you to feel like shit any more than you do now.”

Larry smirked. “You try, I'll give you that.”

“Because I want you to feel better.” Mona coyed. “Now hurry up and get that meeting over with. It's getting cold in here.”

Not wasting any time, Larry casted a spell and teleported to the inside of the council chambers that he visited with his siblings before the migration. It was exactly as it was when they left, with 6 seats circling around the perimeter split off into pairs, with one seat elevated in the center below a large clear crystal. The setting around the mountain peak was set in the present day however, with the Mushroom kingdom to the south and the Koopa Kingdom to the north. To his left was Iggy Koopa seated upon one of the two seats for the Spirit monarchs, looking intently at him. 

“Are they really that loud?” Larry asked, referring to the voices in Iggy's mind.

“They've gotten more annoying as the day has passed.” said Iggy. “It doesn't help that Morton is inciting a lot of it himself. He doesn't think Ludwig's plan is a good idea. He thinks people are too primitive for that.”

“I'm more worried about Ludwig's intentions.” said Larry, sitting down in his seat. “This is not the first time he used his girlfriend's pregnancy as a shield, this time he's using it as an excuse for not taking any responsibility and holing himself up in his little arc of his.”

“You could look at it that way.” said Iggy. “You're right in that he's using Kylie to protect himself against his enemies and any public anger that may go against him, hoping to soften their expectations of him. But he was planning on doing this for a long time, well before we knew that the UmNaru existed. So in that sense this is nothing new. What is a problem is him not telling us anything about it.”

“That's exactly my problem with him.” Larry said, slamming his fist on the armrest. “He looks down on anyone else that's not on his level. He doesn't work with the commoners, so instead he gives them this 'Do what you want' bullshit that he doesn't have to manage himself. I'm not surprised Morton's pissed off.”

“Those are his traits, yes.” said Iggy. “But I think the bigger problem is the polarization. It is the root cause of the disorder over there right now and it makes me wonder what his intentions are. They are definitely not on his conscious mind at the moment.”

“Polarization, you mentioned that before. What is this exactly?” asked Larry.

“Basically, people who believe what they see and decide to survive form off into survival camps are being separated from those who choose to live in denial and try to keep the life that they knew going.” explained Iggy. “You could say that Morton falls into the latter camp.”

“Still don't understand why Ludwig would make so many dramatic changes without telling us.” muttered Larry.

“Well, for his part Ludwig introduced a policy that would benefit a government like that past the pole shift, perhaps.” said Iggy. “By that point money probably wouldn't exist and people would be mostly too traumatized to start fights. But he is way ahead of his time. And the bad thing is that he is subconsciously using that as a buffer against the rest of the population so that they nor the descendants of Marthos try to get at him.”

“Marthos, yes.” Larry murmured. “You know, with that little hiccup the planet just went through I've been very busy managing the working of Genlic, inside and out. I really haven't had much time to keep an eye on him until you mentioned something.”

“I know.” said Iggy, already aware. “You really need to find a Queen of the Blood so you can split the workload between yourselves.”

Larry sighed. “In the past I probably would have said 'No, I'm fine on my own.' But yeah, I'm becoming more convinced I'm going to need one. It's hard enough to manage your own shelter. I see that Penny decided to take the plunge?”

“Yes, she's in the process of being initiated at the moment.” said Iggy. 

“I wonder what Bowser would think of that.” Larry contemplated. “He always wanted to make Peach his queen for the longest time. He's probably envying you right now.”

“We're already light years ahead of him.” said Iggy. “He wouldn't understand the intricacies that we have to go through on a daily basis. Erzembar had a fit though, seeing that she's human. I personally don't care.”

“It's the apocalypse, I don't think it matters.” said Larry. “But that's me. Who knows what the others will think...besides you.”

“I told her it won't be a problem.” said Iggy. “She actually should be joining us later on.”

“Oh uh, a newbie. You better keep her in line, Iggy.” Larry warned.

“I know what I'm doing.” Iggy muttered. “So are you sure about this? It's your call you know.”

“Ludwig needs to explain what he's trying to do.” said Larry. “Because the rest of us are in the dark about this. Hell, we could assume that he's not taking any responsibility for what government he left simply because he hasn't said anything to us. And assuming things is dangerous. He needs to communicate with us more often.”

“Agreed.” said Iggy. “Should we ask him to warp here now?”

“Not yet.” said Larry. “I want to talk to Lemmy first. He needs to hear this whether he likes it or not.”

* * *

High up in the skies of the cold icy north flew a golden ship as it traveled to its destination. Lemmy was getting excited, finally able to see his home for the first time since the war against the UmNaru broke out. Unlike the travel south through the Valley of the Koopa's, the return trip had beautiful weather, at least on his terms: sunny, cloudless and hardly any wind to speak of. He looked out across the vast fields of snow, occasionally spotting a large piece of stone jutting through the ice which told him that he was getting close. 

As he approached his shelter, he noticed a large body of water that had formed around one of the giant stone blocks. Lemmy wondered how that was possible, given the fact that they were now approaching the north pole and the temperatures were below zero. He then spotted another, and then several more in the distance. “What is this?” Lemmy wondered aloud. He wondered if the sun had anything to do with it.

“I do not know, your majesty.” came one of his pilots in response. “They were not here during our departure. It must have something to do with Naru.”

“Regardless, we are approaching the shelter and should be landing in approximately 10 minutes.” said his other pilot.

Lemmy looked back out the window, trying to figure out what was causing all of the ice melt. “Lemmy, are you busy?” came a voice inside his head, sounding like Iggy's. 

“Hi Iggy...I think.” Lemmy thought to himself. “I'm about to land at my shelter.”

“We're having another Meeting like the one we had earlier and we're looking for your input about what Ludwig's doing with the Kingdom right now.”

“Oh...okay.” Lemmy thought to himself. “Warp me in exactly 1 minute.”

“...okay.” came the response. Lemmy walked over to his intercom and dialed one of the numbers to the base. “Receiving.” came the reply.

“Hi, it's Lemmy. I have an emergency meeting to go to with the other kings. Just go through the standard procedure, okay? And we also have new recruits that decided to join us. They need to go through orientation training. If some don't cooperate, then you know what to do. I should be back before dinner time.”

“All right, sir. I'll relay the message to command. Over.” There was static.

“You leaving us sir?” said one of the pilots.

“Yeah, emergency meeting.” said Lemmy. “Just follow--” But he was cut off as he was suddenly teleported to the council room where he appeared in front of Iggy and Larry.

“Oh, hi.” came Lemmy's response.

“Hi Lemmy.” said Larry. “Thanks for coming here on short notice. Iggy is getting annoyed with the madness inside the Koopa Kingdom at the moment.”

“Well, aside from the arguing voices in my head, it is a bit of a problem.” said Iggy as Lemmy sat down on the middle seat. “Basically, people are polarizing between two camps: one believe that they should prepare themselves and their families for the pole shift and take action. The other refuses to acknowledge this and instead denies all of the disasters they're seeing and want to return to the way of life that they knew it as. These attitudes are ripping the kingdom apart. I wonder if this works...” Taking the Spirit Wand, Iggy pointed it at the large crystal above Lemmy's head and instantly a view of the riots inside of the new Koopa Kingdom were apparent. The People's Committee was seen with the legislature in a consistent uproar with no consensus on any issue and the surrounding countryside looked to be in total chaos with no order. Lemmy hummed to himself at the sight. 

“So here is the problem.” Larry continued. “Is this something that Ludwig has planned from the beginning and is this a good or bad thing? Or is this a lack of responsibility on his part and should we reconsider his position as King of the Earth?”

Lemmy scratched his chin in silence, watching the people above them do whatever they pleased. It was pretty much what he thought as far as arguing citizens went.

“You're not gonna know until you ask him.” said Lemmy. “The rest is just a guessing game. Is that how things are done?”

Iggy nodded, acknowledging his point. It wasn't just the citizens that were becoming polarized, it was their points of view, their perspectives. After all, the transformation is a global phenomena and nothing was exempt from it.

“To be honest, I was a victim of it myself.” said Iggy. “It's hard to keep a balanced mind when everything else around you is polarizing like it is.”

“When you're busy, you don't stop and think like this.” said Larry. “There's no time to do that. You have all these things circling around your head so when people...polarize like this, it's easy to get caught up in it without thinking about the real cause of it.”

“But that's exactly what we need to do.” said Iggy. “Otherwise this is going to happen again. We need to be the thinkers and we must keep our minds clear or we'll simply be joining the rest of them.”

There was silence for some time as each became enamored with this new insight. At length, Iggy saw a bright flash in his mind, and after turning around he saw in the distance a bright light shooting up into the sky from the peak of Erzembar. 

“And now I have to take a break.” said Iggy. “My girlfriend needs my help.”

“To be honest, I didn't think that would work.” Larry commented.

“Oh, this is just the start. I should be back in around 15 minutes. Don't start without me, okay?” And with that he disappeared, leaving the other two Koopalings alone.

“What is it with you guys and humans anyway?” Lemmy asked. 

To Larry, it reminded him of what Ludwig said to him during the party aboard the Galaxy. “Guilty pleasures.” Larry finally said. “It's in our blood, you know. I tried denying it, but you know what? Fuck that, this is the end of the world and I'm not letting the old ways control me.”

“It's awesome, right?” Lemmy responded. “Now you can do whatever you want...well, mostly. I think that's what Ludwig's trying to do, but people are like 'I want my Internet and pizza and McKoopa's' and they don't know how to be happy without all that. But...”

“But...?”

“...I like butts.” Lemmy smiled.

“Tch. Who doesn't?” Larry asked half amused.

“People who don't?” Larry shook his head. This was getting eerily familiar.

“Actually, that's another thing. They want those butts.” Lemmy said. “But anyway, Ludwig is the kind of guy that has this need to stay on top of everyone and stay rich all of the time. Everything he's been doing, it's to hold onto what he has. So how does his new government thing help him? It's kind of deceiving I think, but it does help him a lot.”

“Yeah, considering everyone's pissed at him right now.” commented Larry.

“That was gonna happen anyway.” said Lemmy. “They can't have their sandwich rolls or their porn anymore so of course they're gonna be pissed off and point the finger. They always blame the leader for everything. Actually, Ludwig gave them so much freedom that they don't know how to handle it, or even see it for what it is. They're too pissed off because they don't have their pizza rolls.” Lemmy put his head in his hand and sighed. “So they're going to start looting the place, well the greedy assholes will and things will speed up faster. But how does Ludwig come out of this? Think of it this way. No matter what he does, he will be hated. It doesn't matter if he gives them a million coins or not. That's useless now, I'm just saying. But it doesn't matter what he does, so if people are going to hate you no matter what, then what do you do? He chose to give them the whole oven and said 'Here, if you think I'm doing a bad job, then you do it.' Can't blame the leader now, can you? Of course they can, but here's the point. It's an okay move, it gives him a buffer against the mean ones. But people are not ready for this. Hell, he gave them a manual on how to garden and live on their own and now he throws the ball at them and expects them to be class A hunters and woodsmen. He doesn't want to be seen for any failures he might have done. I think he fears being assassinated. After looking at what he did, what else can I think?” 

“Wow Lemmy.” said Larry. “I don't know why you hate politics so much. You're pretty good at them.”

“Because people are selfish.” Lemmy replied. “And they blame you for crap you didn't do.”

At that moment there was a flash of light quickly followed by another. Iggy appeared next to his seat, and so did Penny who was now at least 2 feet taller than she originally was, but still shorter than Iggy's height. She wore an ancient two piece (at her request) that had a similar design that she wore when she woke from unconsciousness within Erzembar for the first time. She looked around the room, seeing it for the first time.

“Welcome to our little gathering.” said Larry. “It looks like you just initiated, so you can just watch what we do for now. I'm Larry, King of the Blood. This is Lemmy, the Nexus.”

“Hi!” Lemmy chirped.

“Haha, hi Lemmy and Larry.” said Penny. “Yes, I'm Penny Crygor but you probably know about me by now. I'm just going to watch whatever happens like you said. I'm still new to all of this.” She sat down next to Iggy, happy things were going smoothly so far.

“I think we're ready to summon Ludwig.” said Iggy.

“Then let's get this over with.” said Larry. Drawing up a globe above Lemmy, he initiated a connection with his older brother whose face appeared inside within moments.

“Ludwig, we are holding a meeting inside the council chamber.” said Larry. “We require that you attend.”

“Very well.” Ludwig said quickly ad his face faded. Several moments passed until a flash of red was seen, manifesting Ludwig inside of the chamber. He looked around with a suspicious glance, trying to guess their intent. “I suppose this must deal with the current affairs of my kingdom, yes?”

“Yes it does.” said Larry. “I will keep this short. Morton is breaking away with little influence from yourself.”

“His departure is to be expected, hence no action is required.” said Ludwig, with the other kings glancing at each other. “Such an individual cannot accept the reality currently befalling him and will continue to believe the old way of life until the pole shift. Until then, he is free to choose his own fate as he desires.”

“Are you sure that's entirely Morton's decision?” Larry asked. 

“He has taken the liberty to use the People's Committee to create a vote of secession.” explained Ludwig. “Isn't that enough reason to justify his decision as his own?” 

“I only got a basic idea of what you had planned for the Koopa Kingdom since you haven't shared this with us--”

“My apologies.” Ludwig interjected.

“--But regardless I don't think Morton would suddenly bail out on you especially when he's been faithfully following your plans this entire time.” Larry finished.

“As was discussed by the Kappur, insanity is expected to increase as the shift approaches.” said Ludwig. '”One of the causes is denial. Given Morton's demeanor, this was a predictable action and not one to hold back. I do not see the issue.” 

Iggy almost laughed. It was something that he hadn't seen earlier but had suddenly been made known to him. Perhaps it was due to the addition of Penny as Queen of the Spirit, but regardless it explained what was currently happening. If Ludwig could see what he saw, then he'd be in utter shock. “It sounds like you don't keep track of who tries to connect to you.” he commented.

“There are no foreign entities to keep track of.” said Ludwig. “Unless you are referring to the line of Marthos, in which case they no longer exist.”

“Wrong.” Taking out the Spirit Wand, Iggy cast a spell that manifested an array of light that connected themselves between the monarchs and other entities that could not be seen. While Iggy was seen with innumerable connections within the white spectrum, Ludwig's was surprisingly dark with black trying to oversect the white that the Wand of Marthos radiated. And yet, the wand did have a single black light connected to it from an unknown location. The fact that Iggy could not clearly see their source was troubling, for it meant that they were able to obscure his vision. They must be using the white spectrum as a shield and blinder as to their real activities.

“The line of Marthos has a direct connection to the wand of their ancestor.” said Iggy. “As you can see, there are black magic connections on it despite the wand acting like it's in the white spectrum. This causes the mind to believe that nothing is wrong while the subconscious is being manipulated. It's basically a trojan horse. The surviving members of line of Marthos, now almost all hybrids are trying to manipulate you through a black wand disguised as a white wand.”

Ludwig was silent as he studied the connections. “There is no other explanation. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice...” He shook his head. “So they seem to be attempting to control my person in a strikingly similar fashion to my father Bowser. The irony of having the wand that granted your current position to be the subtle killer your provocateurs have hoped for is immense.”

“This must be how the line was able to stay in power for so long.” Iggy said. “They shrouded a black wand with white magic. I can see why people would be easily duped. I guess the other question is what do we do with it?”

Ludwig said nothing, but instead seemed to be trying to cast a spell upon himself, then using the Earth Wand to do so.

“Well, I don't think Ludwig should hold it.” said Larry. “There's little reason for you to have it now, especially if its going to infiltrate your mind instead of protect you. It's really undermining your position as King of the Earth and the fact that you can't see that is an example of what it's capable of.”

“I think you should have it, Larry.” said Iggy. “It's your job to watch over the entire family after all. It might help.”

“Considering what it did to Ludwig, I don't see the benefit in using it.” said Larry. “Ludwig, please put the wand on the ground while we decide what to do with it.”

Ludwig hesitated at first, but with a force of will managed to slowly place the wand on the ground. As he stood up, his head suddenly felt dizzy. “I must sit.” he muttered before shuffling himself to his seat at the other end of the circle, holding his head.

Penny, who had watched on in silence wanted to do something, but did not know what. In her mind, she saw Ludwig's wife Kylie laying on a hospital bed with a painful look on her face. She turned her head. “Penny, is that you? How did you get in here? This club is for members only.”

Penny smiled. “Iggy bought me a ticket in.”

“Did he? That rascal. He didn't tell you what you're in for.” Kylie hinted.

“I walked into this, it was my choice.” said Penny. “After he became King I couldn't understand what he was seeing and I couldn't live with that. I know it's taboo to have someone like me to be a Queen, but I couldn't help it.”

Kylie laughed. “You don't have to apologize. My husband tells me it runs in the family. Someone down the line got a little kinky and couldn't help themselves, kind of like Larry. He was born that way too, so don't apologize and just live your life. Hey.” Kylie stretched herself. “What does Ludwig's mind look like, from your view? He's going through a dark place...”

“He's fighting himself.” Penny said. “From what I heard, the Wand of Marthos was directing his subconscious and he didn't notice until we pointed it out. I guess someone is trying to make him do certain things, but I don't know enough to really say what he's going through.”

Kylie hummed. “Maybe that line of Marthos is trying to get at him.”

“Yes, that's what they said. He's not holding it anymore and it looks like he's trying to recover.”

“Good, because I want to try something.” Kylie slyly said.

“You're thinking what I'm thinking.” Penny said. 

“That's how it works, right?” Kylie smiled. “I love that. I mean, before we try anything I should probably tell you that I'm going to give birth any time now...well, that's what the doctor says and I made him bet on that. I might not be up to my usual jazz, but I can still do this. There's too much of that guy vibe hanging around and it's throwing poor Ludwig for a loop. Let's even the game a little bit.”

The aggression in the room suddenly subsided. Iggy looked around before turning to Penny. “Trying to strengthen the Second Trinity?”

“What's of it, but yeah.” she said. “I hope this helps you out Ludwig.”

“It seems to have an effect.” Ludwig said. “Vision is clear, but concentration is still somewhat muddled. I believe this will take extensive healing to correct, but I do appreciate your efforts.”

“It seems the feminine blocks out many of the effects of the wand.” Iggy noted. “Explains why they're all women haters. They even divide the basic polarities apart.”

“We still need to figure out what to do with the wand.” said Larry. There was silence for a moment.

“Let's destroy it.” Lemmy suggested.

“Is that really a good idea?” Larry questioned.

“This was the final fate of its brother, the Wand of Telxin.” said Ludwig. “Pummeled by the weight of the three, it exploded before consuming itself into nothingness. It is theoretical that the same would occur here.” They all looked at each other and no argument arose from his speculation.

“You may need to call upon the other half of your wand.” Iggy said to Ludwig.

“Yes, I am in conversation now.” said the Koopaling, and the others pointed their wands at the Wand of Marthos that lay on the floor in front of them.

“Ready?” Iggy called noting his brother's positions. Lemmy looked on with interest. Larry nodded. Ludwig was channeling the other half of the Earth Wand through his due to Kylie's absence, but nevertheless nodded, indicating he was ready.

“Go!” At once they all fired beams at the Wand of Marthos, which fluctuated until suddenly the white glow that surrounded it grew brighter with intensity and filled up the whole chamber.

“Stop!” Iggy commanded and as they did so, the Wand of Marthos continued to shine brilliantly until the light slowly faded back to its original state.

“There must be some kind of fail safe.” said Larry. “They wouldn't make it this easy.”

“That just increased their power, so yes.” said Iggy. “It seems we can't destroy it the old fashioned way.”

“Disassembling the device would be the idealistic solution.” said Ludwig. “However, this requires an extensive amount of time and considering the fail safe the line has installed, is probably wrought with other dangers.”

“I'll destroy it.” declared Lemmy and he got up from his seat.

“Woah, wait a minute.” warned Iggy, but it was too late. Lemmy was already pointing the Wand of Koopa to the wand on the floor and both wands began to glow again. Lemmy's coppery wand grew white, but the Wand of Marthos began to emit a purple essence around its base which grew in power. Suddenly, the wand leaped into the air and beelined straight towards the Wand of Koopa before attaching itself to it. “Wha???” Lemmy nearly fell backwards, not expecting the assault. 

“What the hell is this?” Larry said, getting up. “How do we stop it?” The fields of both wands merged into a conglomerate of purplish white that ballooned outwards, and in its center was a blackness that was lit by the lights of stars that traveled past as if in the middle of space. 

Iggy shook his head. “This must be Naru magic. I've never seen this before...not since getting my own wand.”

“You saw magic on Naru? Do you know how it works?” Larry asked. Lemmy shook in place, unable to let go of the wand in his hand. “I can't let it go!”

“I've never seen this spell up until now.” said Iggy. “It would not be smart to try and interfere with something we don't know, an old wizard's adage. Hold on Lemmy, we're figuring this out.” 

“It appears to be another fail safe mechanism.” said Ludwig. “If the target cannot be controlled subtly, then destroy it directly. Except in this instance, said target is the Wand of Koopa itself which cannot be destroyed by any of our own means. I predict this method of destruction to be successful, hence.” he eyed the Wand of Marthos. “If you will.” he said, pointing at it. Indeed, the wand was beginning to crack in a similar manner to the Wand of Telxin during its destruction. 

“It looks like the Wand of Koopa is feedbacking upon the other.” observed Iggy. “Which means the fail safe will cause its own destruction. We should brace for impact. Hold on a little longer Lemmy.”

“If this thing is going to explode, then shouldn't--” but Larry never finished. The Wand of Marthos shattered and exploded in a ball of purple flame, shooting Lemmy backwards into the back wall, dropping his wand in the process. The ball of flame then shrunk upon itself until nothing remained. The Wand of Marthos was destroyed.

Everyone got up from their seats at the sight and looked at Lemmy. His eyes stared upwards, but he did not move. Iggy darted towards him, picking up the Wand of Koopa off the floor on his way. Kneeling, he ran his fingers on Lemmy's forehead then recited a short incantation with the wand glowing in response.

Lemmy's body shifted and his eyes darted this way and that, “Oh...I'm here.”

“What do you mean here?” What did you see?” Iggy asked.

Lemmy sighed nervously and closed his eyes. “...spinning rock. A ball of spinning rock, inside a cave. A big ball. I went inside it...it was full of stars. I got lost. I was...floating through space almost. Then I heard someone ask my name. I said Lemmy Koopa. And then he said 'I will see you soon.' I don't know what he meant. Then the stars rushed by really fast and I was back here again.” 

Iggy scratched his head. “Why can't I see this guy?” 

“I was going to say...” Larry muttered. “If this guy is related to Marthos then he should have popped in my head a long while ago especially since we just destroyed the wand, but I don't see anything.”

Lemmy pulled himself together and got up, still a little shaken. “I need some tea. I think I'll head back now...”

“Not without this.” Iggy held out the Wand of Koopa to Lemmy, who eyed it for a moment before cautiously taking it back.

“If you see any other visions, let us know alright?” Larry said. Lemmy merely nodded and prepared to teleport back to his shelter before remembering something. “Oh yeah. Hey Iggy. You keep forgetting to check out what's under my shelter.”

Iggy shook his head from his own annoyance. “Why do I keep doing that? Okay, this time will be different. There's something down there that's making me forget this and I need to figure out what it is. I'll bring Penny with me.”

“Actually, I'll stay.” said Penny. “The garden still needs work and I want to find out more about Erzembar. Honestly, the Temple of Marthos could use some touching up.”

“I have a plan for that.” said Iggy. “But this is something that's needed to be done since the Galaxy.”

“Yeah, I asked after E. Gadd's meeting.” Lemmy noted.

“Oh wow. If it's that old, then never mind. I'll talk about it after you get from that then.” said Penny.

“Thank you. Hopefully it won't take more than a day or two.” said Iggy. “Okay Lemmy, I'll be over there tomorrow.”

“Finally!” That put a smile on Lemmy's face. “I'll see you then!” With that, he disappeared in a flash of light. 

“I must also depart shortly, as Kylie is about to enter labor it seems.” Ludwig announced.

“An early congratulations by the way.” said Larry. “It's not going to be easy raising kids in this environment, but you took the risk.”

“A necessary step considering my position.” Ludwig replied. “I anticipate that some of us will not survive the coming cataclysms, and in order to ensure the stability of the family I did what was necessary.”

“Roy is doing the same thing.” said Iggy. “He wants to leave something behind.”

“Is he? Peculiar. Why has he not announced his mate?” Ludwig wondered.

“It seems his girlfriend is of the line of Marthos.” Iggy revealed.

“Intermarriage between the lines of Lethis is strictly forbidden.” stated Ludwig. “Even if he is ignorant of this fact, why was he allowed to proceed and consummate with the enemy?” 

“He has a plan, and I like where he's going with it.” Larry said. “Diadora is a descendant of Rendell, the surviving son of Inauro. Most of the former line of Marthos descends from the brothers of Celman, Inauro's grandfather along with his own elder brothers. There is a reason Inauro became King of the Earth, but that's another story. In short, his line was hated by the rest of the family and even are shunned from important positions. This line survived the God's Wrath spell because they do not practice black magic like the rest of their lineage. It is a strategic chess move on Roy's part. It's one reason why the line of Marthos, or what hybrids now survive in it hasn't attacked you outright. But for some reason, I can only see Diadora and not the other family members.”

“Same with me.” Iggy confirmed. “They probably have some kind of mechanism that disguises their whereabouts. I can still see Diadora's thoughts in any case and can tell you that it's all pretty much true.”

Ludwig scratched his chin. “Is he attempting to merge the family branches together in order to prevent future conflict?”

“In short, yes.” Iggy stated.

Ludwig wasn't sure what annoyed him more: the fact that Roy had not said anything about his plans, or that the other monarchs already knew this and yet did not tell him this. Then again, he hadn't told anyone of his plans for the new Koopa Kingdom largely due to the influence of the Wand of Marthos and neither was there time for that now.

“I suppose this is karma at work.” said Ludwig. “Thanks to that wand's influence over my person. Needless to say that my plans were hastened to a later stage prematurely which can no longer be rectified single handedly. I will allow the council to fix itself along with my own measures that I will introduce after Kylie has completed her labor. Sadly, I do not have enough time to explain the works as yet, though a general idea can be seen at least ideologically. Now, I must speak to Roy immediately and be quick about this issue.” 

But then he heard Kylie cry aloud in his mind and stopped short, blinking. “You need to go help your wife out.” Penny said, hearing the same thing.

Ludwig sighed. “You are right. However, this matter must be dealt with as soon as possible. Until then.” He then promptly disappeared in a flash.

“Shouldn't have brought that up.” said Larry. “He's under enough stress as it is.”

“Was it better if he didn't know?” Iggy asked.

“At the moment, yes.” replied Larry. “He needed to know eventually, but now was not the right time. He has way too much on his mind and yet needs to focus on one thing only.”

“Well, we can try again later.” said Iggy. “Roy's plans are long term anyways.”

“Plus he needs to withdraw from the Wand of Marthos in the middle of all of this.” Larry continued, tapping his fingers. “I'm going to reach out to Morton and see if I can put some stability in this.”

“It's worth a shot.” Iggy said. “He'd listen to you more willingly at this point.”

“Is that all of it?” Penny asked. “We really need to get back as well.”

“For now.” said Larry. “Even though I didn't say what I wanted to say. There's just too much going on right now.”

“I'm telling you, find a Queen of the Blood and your work will be cut in half.” said Iggy. “She doesn't have to be your girlfriend or anything. It's also the only missing monarch right now.”

“I know.” Larry muttered. “I'm thinking about it.”

“Then we're off.” said Iggy and the two disappeared in mere moments, leaving Larry alone with his thoughts. They only had enough time to delve into Ludwig's situation, never mind what was happening at his and Iggy's survival shelters. They didn't even talk about the disasters that took place since the major planetary adjustment. They were so busy that they couldn't even come together to shoot the shit anymore, now it was all business. 

Larry looked at the panorama of lands in front of him, with volcanic smoke and crumbled lands, and flooding coastlines and turbulent storms. Problems were becoming more and more localized and he began to realize that what mattered back home was what mattered the most. Ludwig may have his problems, but considering the social breakdown caused by the oncoming pole shift this should have been expected. It was when it started happening to you that it became easy to forget this fact, to the point that you were just another person reacting to what was around them. Social breakdown also brought a breakdown to the mind's understanding of life, and that Larry believed was the real culprit for all this confusion. The best solution? Focus on the immediate things back home. 

Getting up, Larry waved his wand and teleported back inside of his bedroom at Genlic, where he found a naked Mona sound asleep with half of the covers wrapped around herself. It was the middle of the night now, with the moon well past its zenith and lowering across the sky towards the southwest. Wrong again. It was almost to be expected these days. Taking off his shell, he crawled into bed and snuggled next to Mona before falling asleep.


	39. Open Eyes, Open Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some reflection, Larry decides to do what's best for the Koopa Kingdom and removes Ludwig from his position as King of the Earth.

Sitting down in her seat in the dining hall of Genlic, Mona glanced over at the head of the table where King Larry Koopa usually sat. His seat was empty, and she guessed that he was still sleeping from the troubles he went through last night. Everyone else was gathering themselves together for their usual morning routine of daily production reports and she wasn't looking forward to answering all of their questions on Larry's behalf, but with her added experience since moving into the fortress, she knew she wouldn't have many problems taking care of them. 

Letting the smell of buttered bread make her mind wander a bit, Mona's eye caught something folded underneath Larry's plate. Unable to contain her curiosity, she got up and snagged it herself: a piece of folded paper unaddressed to anyone in particular. Returning to her seat, she opened it and read its contents:

_I won't be there today. I didn't solve it all last night. Need to think this through. Need to think a lot of things. Be head honcho for a day, will you? I'll be back tonight._

Mona sighed. Something definitely happened last night. 

“So Larry's not showing up today?” Kooper asked, noting the letter.

“Yeah.” she replied, putting the letter away. “He's on some kind of sabbatical. His other job is pretty stressful. That's alright, I'll cover for him. Do we want to wait for our food this time?”

Kooper laughed nervously. “Sorry, I was anxious about that beat problem. If you want to wait, then let's wait.”

“You get happier thoughts on a fuller stomach, you know.” Mona said. “At least have a coffee before trying to say numbers.”

“I can do that on an empty stomach.” said Kooper. “But I guess that's a skill. Our coffee harvest is through the roof, it makes me wonder why people drink so much. It's too acidic.”

“Old world problems.” muttered Mona. “I'm trying to be good, but it's so hard to be good and cut back.”

“That's called an addiction.” Bombette pointed out.

“I know, but I can't help myself. It's hard to change sometimes.”

* * *

The sun was beginning to set below the western horizon, casting his shimmering rays across the ever fluid ocean. That's right, change was everywhere. You flowed with it or it took you along forcibly, no matter how many words someone could conjure up. The waves lashed at the shore, muddying the footprints left behind in the sand. His trail was being washed away by time. He needed to get this done.

“Yes,” Larry affirmed to himself, sitting upon a rocky outcropping that jutted itself towards the ocean. He had spent the whole day thinking to himself of the current situation, the reality of it, the best perspective to take and a slew of other things that flowed through his mind like a river. It was a long time coming as he later realized. He needed to get this done. He had to put his foot on all of this, just like Iggy said. For too long, he had let Ludwig have his way because he was the traditional leader of the Koopalings, but Larry now knew that mindset was another relic of the Old World. He had to stand up to him and do what was right. If he didn't have enough time to rule a nation due to his kids or his other unimportant pompous matters, then he needed to be removed. The destruction of the Wand of Marthos seemed to have restored his clear and sharp mentality, but it did not change his attitude much. One should not ride out the shift surrounded by luxury and a fear of loss for their possessions, things that were destined to happen in life to begin with. Perhaps it was Ludwig's pride in his castle that prevented an otherwise effective rulership, and Larry knew him well enough that he'd never let go of it. Now that he had a family, he knew letting go of it was impossible for the fear of losing them.

So the question was, if Ludwig were to be replaced, then who would replace him? Not Morton. While he was a leader on some levels, he was more of a community leader than a national one. He was too reactionary and could let his fears control him in the worst moments. No, he needed someone who would stand by their convictions no matter what. With that criteria, there was only one person who could do the job.

As the sun went down, Larry noticed a ball of light to its 4'o-clock, and surrounding it were smaller orbs that seems to appear as the dusk grew closer. He saw more reflected off the water and wondered if he was seeing the moons that surrounded the Destroyer. If so, then it was becoming more visible in the sky already. He thought about bringing up ways to see the complex easier to the committee tomorrow, which should prove any deniers wrong. But in any case, he needed to get going on this. Becoming the head of the Koopalings was not going to be an easy fight, especially when one of them hated to let go of anything.

He got up and with a swirl of his wand, warped back into the ancient council chamber, now empty from the previous day. He immediately cast a spell on the crystal floating high in the center of the room, and an image of the People's Committee came back into view. Like what he saw in his mind, they seemed to be in the process of casting a final vote and he saw Morton sitting nearby watching someone give a speech as everyone else listened on. It looked like they were going through with their migration effort, regardless of what Ludwig desired. From the speech, it seemed that Ludwig sent a delegate to try and smooth things out, but they were largely ignoring him, believing that they were going to be living as virtual hostages inside or outside his floating castle. He didn't really blame them. The situation was now irreparable, but depending on how well he did, it could still be salvaged.

Leaving the view for a moment, Larry then took out his personal wand and made a call to a Koopaling he could no longer ignore to the east of the Koopai Valley. After a moment, a familiar face lit up above it. “Well, what's dis about?” Roy asked.

“We need to have a little talk.” said Larry.

“What for?” 

“Ludwig's not doing his job.” Larry put bluntly. “We need someone who will. The situation is pretty bad right now, Morton's about to go off on his own after Ludwig's little announcement. You need to come up here and see for yourself.”

Roy huffed, then ate another piece of steak before downing it with a pale beer. He then stood up. “Alright. Do yer thing.” 

After a simple teleportation spell, Roy suddenly found himself inside the council chambers for the first time. He looked around him before eying Larry. “So dis is the place. You all come here and talk your shit.”

“There's been a lot of shit actually.” Larry said. “Between the Earth flip-flopping back and forth and people having a hard time with their own jobs, there's been a lot of shit flying around.”

But Roy was watching the meeting above him. “What da hell is dat idiot doing?”

“Morton? He's being pushed to start his own kingdom.” explained Larry.

“Not him, Ludwig.” Roy muttered. “He let them have power. Makes sense, until you see the big picture. He has dis flying castle. Silent command. Don't need words for that, you know. But look at them. They know dis already. Can take them hostage whenever he wants. Dat valley can flood easy. Good excuse to tell them “Hey, I can save you.” They all board his castle and den that's it. He has them. Dat's what he thinks. Won't happen, never will.”

Larry had thought about that possibility of Ludwig using the castle as a type of flying arc before. He didn't think he would use it unless he had no other choice, but given Roy's point about the valley being low land it looked to be a bigger possibility now. If this was all a ruse for Ludwig to take most of the population into his arc like Roy was saying, then that more than justified his removal. That was not how the Koopa's were going to survive the pole shift by any means, let alone forcing them into it.

“Seems strange that he would give them the freedom to make their choice, then later force them into an arc regardless of what they choose, doesn't it?” Larry questioned.

“Dat's the illusion.” Roy explained. “Make them think they have a choice. They lay their plans out, everyone sees them, den he plans his next move. Simple. Morton's doin the right thing. Should move west, south of Lake Okawan. Flooding yeah, but not nearly as bad as here. Unlivable here. Whole thing's a set up.”

Larry frowned. 

“You gotta take him out now.” Roy stressed. “Luddy won't let go of his...little creation. Do it before he slams the trap shut. It's gonna happen soon. Listen, they're talking about flooding down south.” Indeed, the spokesman at the podium was detailing reports of flooding along the southern edge of the valley and specifically cited “intruding seawater” as the reason, with no storms reported to hit the area. 

“Plate is tilting.” Larry muttered, folding his arms. “Ludwig would've thought of that well in advance.”

“It's a set up.” 

“It's just...disappointing.” Larry said. “You would figure he'd be better than that. He was always about surrounding himself with pomp, but I didn't think he'd go to such lengths to try and keep it. At this rate, he'd do anything to keep it.”

“Luddy's sleight of hand is good.” Roy said. “But don't let him fool you. He was always like that. Anything that got him the good life, he beelined to. He won't let go of that. He never will, that's why he must go. Even if he has to take the kingdom hostage. Poor taste. But in your head, everything's different. It's not reality.”

“I didn't know you were a philosopher.” Larry remarked.

Roy smiled a toothy grin. “Dat war taught me some things, bro. A lot of things.”

“So if you knew he was going to do this, why didn't you speak up before?” Larry asked.

“Cause you don't bite the hand that feeds you.” Roy answered. “He gave me control of the kingdom. The one he left behind. You don't complain about that. You know what he's doin, sure. Was at the meeting, he explained everything. Knew about the valley, the plate borders. Said nothing. He told his whole set up to all of you, but who understood it? It was surreal, bro. You all listened and believed him. Trusted him, didn't even question him. Only dat Erzem...bar guy said something, Iggy's pal there. He knew something. But you can only say so much before he suspects. Before he thinks you're an enemy. Don't like his plans, you're an enemy. Why do you think he gave me this...position?”

“He doesn't want you around him.” Larry said.

“Yeah, he hates me.” Roy explained. “Left me behind. Probably figured “Hey, if the crags are crumbling den he can't follow.” Whole place is a time bomb. He knew it, he knew I saw his plans. Left me back there. Bowser's dungeons, remember those? Power's out, been out for a while. Tricky keeping all the lunatics in. Trying to keep me busy. You know, I'm glad you called. I was thinking, leave a present for him before you go out. Didn't want to live. Thought I did too much damage. Try to pay back what you can den go out. At least keep dem at bay. But you know, there's more to dis. I can't leave her like dat. Not right. She wont make it like dat.”

“You talking about Diadora?” Larry asked. “In that case, I already know what you're planning.”

“Heh, good. Den you know what you gotta do. It's the only way to fix dis.”

Larry sighed. It was not going to be easy trying to dethrone Ludwig, let alone take his wand from him. In truth, he wanted to avoid this situation for a long time understanding what would probably happen, but given the current state of affairs, it was becoming unavoidable. 

“I know what I have to do.” said Larry. “I'm going to need help doing it. But before I start, I have to ask: if given the chance, would you?”

“You dun have much choice, bro.” Roy stated. “I'll do it. If you dun like it, then I won't fight it. Already lost everything a few times. Not afraid to lose it all again. You sending him here?”

“Forcibly, yes.” Larry said. “I want Iggy's help in this too.” But that made him think: if Iggy could see everyone's thoughts, then why didn't he warn him of this?

Roy grunted at the mention of Iggy. “I gotta work with him, huh?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” Larry said. “He's the Spirit King so he has the same stake in this as I. If there's anyone that can beat Ludwig magic wise, it's Iggy.”

“Den I'll make sure he stays down.” Roy said, flexing his bicep. “And I'll give him a good speech he needs to hear.”  
There was a white flash across the room and from it appeared Iggy Koopa as if summoned. “So, it looks like you can see Ludwig for who he is now. Good, I was hoping you would.”

“Why didn't you tell me earlier?” Larry asked, annoyed.

“Considering the way you let him off after destroying the Wand of Marthos, I felt it necessary to let the situation drag on until the thought manifested itself.” explained Iggy. “As before then, it was just a suspicion and not yet a belief. But Roy helped speed things along a bit and now you can see Ludwig for who he is.”

“Why didn't you stop him then?”

“That's not my job.” said Iggy. “That's your job.”

Larry rolled his eyes. “Alright, we're going to summon him here and I will give him the speech. I am guessing that he doesn't have to travel to the Divine Cathedral to undo his crownship and we can just take his wand on the spot, correct?”

“Right.” Iggy said. “The majority rules each monarch's position. In this case, it'll be three to two but that won't stop Ludwig from trying to fight back. When he does, this will justify your decision to remove him and he'll simply be digging a hole for himself at that point.”

Larry inhaled. “Right. Let's get this over with.” The two raised their wands and in unison cast another teleportation spell. On the other side of the room, Ludwig manifested who then did a double take before looking around him in confusion. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.

“The voices have not ceased.” explained Iggy. “It seems the situation at the Koopa Kingdom remains critical.” 

“My sincerest apologies.” said Ludwig. “Perhaps there is a remedy to offset the problem?”

“There is.” said Larry. “The citizens must be told what is happening around them instead of being dragged into a situation they don't understand. It is clear that giving them a choice to something they cannot comprehend is having violent effects. Morton will be departing soon, given the council voting on the measure.” He pointed at the scene above him, where people were casting their votes.

Ludwig shrugged. “That is their decision. As I've stated, they may choose their fate rather than become entangled within the rules and bounds of a police state, of which the line of Marthos would surely have desired.” He eyed Roy suspiciously.

“You dun know how they work.” Roy claimed.

“On the contrary. Having traveled through their homeland just prior to my ascension, I became witness to their innumerable forms of control including physical torture, mental submission and magical abuse. They would desire this, especially after their defeat at my hands.”

“It wasn't just your hands, Ludwig.” Iggy pointed out. “The God's Wrath spell is the primary culprit to the death of that entire line, except for a single branch.”

“Just the more suspect as to why they alone have survived.” said Ludwig. “And of course why Roy would desire to take one to wed. Considering his previous inoculation into their discipline, his decision remains most suspect.”

“The black lineage is all died out amongst the full bloods.” explained Iggy. “The only full bloods that survive have nothing to do with Dac'Leon's cult.”

“This isn't about the line of Marthos, this is about you.” said Larry. “We called you here not for you to ridicule us.”

“Isn't that what I have been called into?” said Ludwig. “It seems all are suspicious of my motives, despite the intents I have already explained. It is simple: the population has been given their chance at deciding their future and they are clearly unsure as how to proceed, though a small contingent is about to leave the vicinity for themselves.”

“And if they can't decide what to do, you do nothing about it, right?” asked Larry. 

“I have sent a delegate to the council, but it seems they will not have my advice to this matter.” Ludwig claimed. “As this is their choice, I am powerless to stop them per the rules issued out upon my arrival.”

“Powerless to stop them?” said Larry. “The only thing we are powerless against is the pole shift itself. Why have you not gone there yourself?”

“That is unnecessary.” Ludwig claimed.

“Why?”

“It's obvious as to the reason. Given the evidence of intrusion by the line of Marthos in the past, my person is highly vulnerable outside the confines of my vessel, Ludwig's Castle. This is not to mention any mutinies that will evidently be forthcoming.”

“So you're scared. Don't want to show your face and fight.” Roy said.

“I must ask why Roy is present at this meeting.” inquired Ludwig. “As he is neither a monarch nor elected to be such, and this council is reserved solely for such individuals.”

“Oh, you didn't like that?” asked Roy. “My bad. Guess you don't like people knowing they're in a bad spot too. Not good for you.”

“What on Earth are you suggesting?” asked Ludwig. 

“You know what I'm talking about. Why would you build your little toy if you don't plan to use it? Southern valley is already flooding. Do you think I'm blind? This valley is not safe. It'll flood over with sea water. Earthquakes from the crag's. Unstable. And then you swoop down with your little arc and save everyone.”

“I do not know what you are speaking about.” Ludwig argued.

Roy suddenly took out a map and unfurled it. It was one of Ludwig's maps, left behind at John's Castle after setting out upon the migration. It showed the Koopai Valley superimposed upon the tectonic plates in the vicinity, along with various arrows and markings. One of these arrows was shown drawn up the valley, and the scribbling “Plate tilting southeast. Tidal bore in this direction. Initiate plan at this time.” Ludwig tilted his head. “I am surprised such a piece was left behind with your person. How careless.”

“Careless you didn't tell us about dis plan. What is it? Valley floods and your castle comes to the rescue? Why was dis secret?” Roy asked.

Ludwig did not answer. It was clear he was between a rock and a hard place after such a blunder was revealed. Suddenly, he was on the line. 

“Moving an entire population into a flying castle is not self sustainable.” said Larry. “Neither is moving them into a valley that is destined to suffer flooding and earthquakes. I suppose this was your excuse to create a flying empire of people willing to serve your every whim?”

“I am the King of the Earth, and thus my own decisions to run the Koopa Kingdom are final.” Ludwig stated. 

“With the approval of the council.” Larry added.

“I do not need the supervision of those not qualified to mingle in my work.” Ludwig argued.

“You may not, but if the council does not like it then it must be altered.” Larry stated.

“Then what is the will of the council?” Ludwig asked, growing increasingly agitated.

“You did not tell us about this plan.” said Iggy. “This should have been talked about during the meeting at John's Castle. The fact that you kept it a secret means you didn't want us to know about it, which means we have to question your intent. Do you intend to hold onto your old luxurious life at the cost of everyone around you, or do you intend to encourage a sustainable lifestyle that is required for pole shift survival?”

“Given your abilities, you should be aware of what I intend.” said Ludwig.

“Well, since you insisted...” Iggy dispelled the image of the People's Committee and replaced it with an image in Ludwig's mind, which more or less confirmed the drawings on the map. The Castle was seen lowering into a flooded valley and, having gathered the drowning population, then were set to live inside the castle and free to travel across the world.

“Well, this says everything.” Larry muttered.

But Ludwig growled, not intending for Iggy to display his mind so openly. 

“If this is your true intent, then I do not approve of this.” said Larry. “Taking refuge inside of a floating castle and pleasured by trinkets and gadgets will not make one survive the long term. What if the castle crashes? You are a stick in the water then.”

“I don't approve of this either.” said Iggy. “It is obvious this is for selfish gain and not much else. That way of living is falling into the past and the future of transparent living must be embraced. Penny is telling me she agrees, and that the people should be given the chance you gave to them, and not take that back.”

“That makes it three to one.” said Larry. “A change in your policy is required to calm the population.”

But Ludwig was now simmering, angry that his years of planning and effort were suddenly being pulled out from under him. “Are I not the oldest Koopaling? What I say is final in these matters.”

“I am in charge of the family now, so what I say is final.” Larry said.

“Is this your job?” Ludwig asked.

“Yes.”

“Then it is a pity.” Ludwig muttered. “I expected better.” 

“Belittling me will not get you anywhere.” Larry argued. In response, Ludwig suddenly fired a shot at Larry who quickly blocked the shot with his own wand, dispersing the energy around him. Iggy immediately got up and took out the Spirit Wand, but Ludwig with his free hand shot out a bolt of lightning and it flew out of Iggy's hand, falling down into the jungle depths below. Seeing his chance, Ludwig shot a beam from the Earth Wand at Iggy, but to his surprise Iggy caught it with his bare hands and in a risky maneuver, let it flow through his body and back out into his hands, forming a ball of energy. It wasn't before long that Ludwig realized his predicament.

“Cease and desist, Ludwig!” Larry ordered, pointing the Blood Wand at him. “You've already made a case for your removal!”

“Being unable to carry out my plans is deplorable!” Ludwig argued, thinking of how to counter Iggy's growing sphere of energy. He could not cut off the spell or the sphere would be launched at him. He thought about dodging somehow, but the weight of the energy against him was quickly growing heavier. Soon he could no longer point his wand at Iggy and the ball immediately exploded, launching both Koopalings in opposite directions to the jungle below the council chamber. The Earth Wand flew out of Ludwig's hand and was lost in the trees.

“Get it!” Larry ordered, and Roy stepped out towards the north looking for the Earth Wand. He saw Ludwig tumbling upon the rocks as he fell until he finally landed upon a rocky outcropping about four fifths of the way down and remained still. The wand was nowhere near him and last seen had fallen more to his right. 

Larry ran to the other side of the chamber, where he saw Iggy hanging onto a cliff face not far down from him. “I'm fine.” Iggy said, and using his free hand called the Spirit Wand from the forest floor and it flew into his hand. With that, he simply teleported to the chamber and sighed to himself. “He went the other way, to the north north-west.” he said. “The Wand went more towards the northeast, so I would look there.”

“Roy!” Larry called, and he pointed towards the right. Roy shifted direction, looking through the underbrush of the cliff. Meanwhile, Ludwig slowly came to, groaning in pain as he tried to get up. He had intended to fight his way through this and somehow get his way with things, but then noticed that the Earth Wand was not with him. He looked around and soon realized that it had flown out of his hand during the blast. Unable to match himself with their power, he knew he needed to make a retreat before they could make their next assault. 

But he had forgotten about the monarch's ability to discern his location, and Iggy and Larry soon located where he was down the cliff face. Nevertheless, Ludwig took out his personal wand and attempted to teleport out of the ancient council area, but he became surrounded by a black rainbowish light and became enclosed by the magic of Larry's Blood Wand, which his own wand was unable to match. 

After jumping down a small cliff face, Roy found the wand between a pair of bushes. He picked it up and immediately felt a surge of pain surge up through his arm and he winced at first, but being more tolerant of pain did not take long to orient himself to the Wand's capabilities. A blast caught him off guard, and turning he saw Ludwig trying to throw him further down the mountain face despite his situation, using his accumulated magic from the Earth Wand to try and influence the wand now in Roy's hand. If it were one of the weaker Koopalings it may have had an effect, but Roy was a rock and hard to influence. With a shot, Roy sent a blast towards Ludwig's feet, which sent him flying into the air. Thinking quickly, Iggy caught Ludwig in mid air using an areal spell and guided his person back into the council chamber, trapped between the magic of two wands.

“Alright, that was uncalled for.” Iggy said. “That includes trying to teleport out of this place. This kind of behavior is not really fit for an Earth King.”

To Larry, the damage was pretty much done. Ludwig's intent was quite obvious and he needed no further evidence for his removal. “I will not allow your castle to become the second Galaxy. That's not how people will survive. The fact that was your plan all along shows much you've failed to adapt to the times.”

“My lifestyle is not yours to dictate!” Ludwig argued, struggling inside of his magic bubble.

“If it endangers the entire kingdom, then it is certainly mine to dictate.” Larry countered. “If the castle crashes during the coming pole shift, which is entirely possible, then scores of people will be killed if not thousands. Taking that risk for the sake of resisting change is the sign of a person unwilling to let go and let life take its natural course. The problem is you.”

“How dare you make a mockery of me!” Ludwig struggled. “My contributions to the kingdom are irrefutable! There is no other way to preserve what civilization will remain! To throw away what has been accomplished is ludicrous!”

“Throw away?” Iggy contemplated this flawed logic. “Nothing is being thrown away but technology that doesn't serve the need for survival. The Koopa Kingdom was built upon self serving interests and so did the technology around it. Ludwig's Castle is the perfect example of this. Food synthesizers? Lounges? Heated beds? Self cleaning toilets? These are luxuries, not requirements of living. People need the essentials of surviving, not the essentials of luxury.”

“Preposterous!” Ludwig shouted. “How can civilization continue without an existing blueprint? It is meant to be the model to continue what has been left off. Do you intend to live like those peasants, in the shanty shacks and dirt trenches with the rats?”

Larry and Iggy looked at each other. There was only one way for Ludwig to learn now. Roy finally reached the chamber and climbed back into it, wondering why everyone was so quiet but he felt a battle of nerves taking place and decided to stay silent.

“I feel bad considering the work you've done so far, but with the way things are now I think it's best you spend more time with your kids.” said Larry.

“As the head Koopaling, I believe it pertinent you release me before you suffer any further consequences!” Ludwig demanded, trying to free himself of their restraint. 

“Is that a threat?” Larry asked.

“You have no authority over my person!” Ludwig shouted.

“Wrong! As the Blood King, I have authority over every living descendant of Koopa. Your authority as head Koopaling no longer exists!” 

Ludwig's eyes furrowed in apparent surprise. Apparently, he had not thought of that before.

Larry snorted. “It's been that way since my initiation. How long have you been living in a dream world, Ludwig? You think you can control everything as a King. Maybe in the old days but not anymore. Society will move forward as a group, not by a single person. You said so yourself. Your job was to administer the Koopa Kingdom like any King of the Earth would do: run it, keep it together, keep the citizens happy and make sure it didn't fall apart. You are failing all of these requirements. Throwing your little rebellion into the mix, this is more than enough reason to get rid of you and find a replacement. Do you have anything to say that can counter this?”

“That the machinations of Roy have blinded you,” said Ludwig, “Which calls into question your capabilities as monarch. I will not accept such false pretensions on my person.”

“Your acceptance is irrelevant.” Larry countered. “The decision is mine, not yours.” To Larry, it was quite clear that Ludwig could not let go of his former authority as head Koopaling, which was now long defunct and yet he still tried to use it for his lifestyle. “Anything from Kylie?” Larry asked Iggy.

There was a pause. “Nothing.” Iggy responded. “She's too much in shock to say anything. Considering she just laid her batch of eggs, it's not very surprising.”

“Alright then.”

“Your actions performed upon the pending birth of my children is absolutely deplorable.” Ludwig said.

“Using your children as a shield for your actions is deplorable.” Larry said. “This selfishness is stopping now.” Larry needed to get this over with and now. This was dragging on for too long.

“I have decided that the King of the Earth, Ludwig Von Koopa is to be replaced by Roy Koopa, effectively immediately. Let us conduct the ceremony.”

“No!!!” Ludwig became desperate and shot spells out of his hands in an attempt to free himself but it was no use. The three wands all lit themselves into a bright radiance before beams of light shot out and interconnected between each other. Another beam shot out from the Earth Wand hitting Ludwig in the stomach and he immediately cried out in pain, but so did Roy whose body began to shift and transform. Ludwig's horns shrank and disappeared and his height was somewhat shortened, a reversal from what was experienced at the Divine Cathedral. On the other end, Roy's height grew and a pair of horns emerged out of his skull. The pain got to him for a moment and he knelt down trying to stomach it all. But then the lights flashed and they all went out at once, the ceremony completed. Ludwig was still taller than his previous self, but otherwise had reverted back to it with his hair tattered and a mess. Roy however had evolved, now much taller and more menacing. He looked around him with the new powers and perspectives brought about by the wand, and then to Ludwig who now lay on the floor in a daze. 

“Alright Roy.” Larry began, “You're King of the Earth now. You've come a long way and now you have a chance to prove yourself. Just don't mess this up.”

“Can't.” said Roy. “Can't fail dis.” He walked over to Ludwig. “Advice, bro. Go back to music. Were good at dat. Why did you stop? People liked it. Dat's why they liked you. Haven't heard it in years.”

Ludwig thought to himself. He had a number of potential answers to use, but none of them would satisfy Roy.

“Go back to dat.” Roy continued. “Need to keep culture alive. You can help do that. Keep comfy dat way.” He turned to walk back, but then remembered something and turned around. “That ship you have. Need to strip its guns. Don't want you wandering off, holding towns hostage.”

“Those armaments are required for my protection.” muttered Ludwig. “Against the line of Marthos...”

“Roy's right, there's no reason to have them.” said Larry. “Especially in a survival colony.”

“Is this an order?” Ludwig muttered.

“If Roy wants it he has the right to, as you now fall under his jurisdiction.” Larry explained.

Ludwig growled but did not answer.

“Like Morton.” said Roy. “Same thing. Now you're on his level. Look at him.”

“I'm sending you back to your castle.” said Larry. “Before you arrive, your weapons will be disabled.”

“I'm takin' dem off now.” Roy said. Twirling his new wand, he let loose one of the spells he picked up in the military. Above the Koopai Valley, the turrets seen upon Ludwig's Castle slowly faded away until they disappeared altogether. 

“It's done.” Roy said. With that, Larry casted a teleportation spell and in a moment Ludwig was gone. There was a long silence afterwards. Iggy sighed deeply as the remaining Koopalings thought to themselves. Eventually, Roy turned to Larry. “So, what do I gotta know?”

* * *

“The majority has ruled in favor of relocating towards the Bambesh River effective tomorrow morning.” said a Koopa Troopa and immediately there was an uproar of cheer and applause in the chamber. Morton Koopa Junior merely folded his arms at the news, knowing that the measure still needed to pass by Ludwig before it would take effect. Considering how slow Ludwig had been lately, he imagined it would take at least 24 hours before they heard anything from him. Knowing these people, they would probably try and leave anyway.

At the corner of his eye, Morton spotted a large figure enter the chamber. It wasn't until the candles illuminated his face did the chamber suddenly fall silent: it was Roy Koopa...with horns? How was that possible? 

“Woah, why are you all the way out here?” Morton asked. “ And what's going on with those horns of yours?”

“Ludwig's gone.” Roy simply replied. “I'm king now.”

“Says who?”

“Says Larry.” Roy held up the Earth Wand, which immediately caused a commotion. 

“So wait, Larry just demoted Ludwig?” asked a Koopa Troopa on the other end of the chamber.

“Yup. Wasn't doing his job. Too busy with the kids. Too afraid to face reality. Let everything fall apart. Got rid of him.”

“So what would you do that he wouldn't?” came a question from somewhere in the audience with many voices rising in agreement. 

Roy took out a series of rolled up parchments and placed them on a large table in front of him. Unrolling one, he spread it out for all to see. It was the map that he had shown Larry earlier. “Dis was Ludwig's plan. Move into the Koopai Valley. Take more people into his castle as things got worse. Valley floods from the sea, bores up the river. Earthquakes take care of the rest. Valley lies on a plate border.”

That seemed to piss off a lot of people. “Well no wonder he never came here!” Morton exclaimed. “He'd have to answer for himself if he ever did. Let me guess, use the disasters an an excuse to board his little ship?”

“Yup.” Roy nodded. “Won't happen, won't allow it. Took off his guns, his weapons. Harmless now. Can't do anything but fly around.”

“Let him fly around.” said Morton. “He can make his demands but I ain't listening to that piece of shit again.”

“Can't stay here, have to move out. Too dangerous. Have to move west.”

“That's exactly what we're doing.” said Morton, handing him the committee's resolution. Roy raised an eyebrow. Didn't he just say avoid settling in valleys? “Bambesh Valley.”

“That's the place.” said Morton. “It's just south of that huge lake...Okawan I think. Akawan, something like that.”

“Go there if you want.” said Roy. “I'm going close to there. Settling in the hills above it. That's where the rest of da Kingdom is going. But valleys? Not good. They flood, water will flood there during the shift. Destroy everything. Need to stay in the hills, away from plates, mountain building. Lower Koopai already flooding. Can't settle near rivers without problems. I'm saying you can do dis if you want. I don't like it, but you can. Going to da hills next to the valley. Will dig in there. Dat's my plan.”

“Well if you're heading towards our way, then we can take a vote on it.” said Morton. “No guarantees that anyone will like yours since we're planning on leaving tomorrow morning.”

“If he's going to be so close to us, then why does it matter now?” asked one.

“It's still a bit of a ways, about a 5 mile gap or so.” said another. 

“How do we know he's not trying to take advantage of us?” said a Paratroopa. “He has higher terrain and can easily surround us when we're not looking.”

“Say dat when the valley is drowning.” Roy countered. “You wont get help then. You voted to live there. Your choice. I'm sayin how it is.”

The Paratroopa rolled its eyes. “Let's vote then.” So for the next 20 minutes they went through another voting process and recounted the ballot. Morton was handed the results. “So it looks like there's a split between the original plan and Roy's plan, and there's another majority who thinks the whole region should be taken up regardless. I agree with that actually, since Roy would be only 5 miles away it makes little difference. We can put patrol's up if we want later, but either way we're still heading out there tomorrow.”

“Fine with me.” said Roy. “Your choice.”

“Is that ship coming with us or not?” asked a Goomba.

“Have to talk with Kylie on dat.” said Roy. 

“Oh yeah, Kylie's still Queen isn't she?” Morton realized. “So I guess that would make her captain of the ship. Well, that's fitting.” Some laughter was heard.

“Yeah. She laid a batch of eggs not long ago.”

“Congrats to her.” said Morton. “In the middle of all this shit? Really, she needs the congrats. I have to stop by and say hello if I can, as long as the blue haired menace can be avoided.”

“She's been busy.”

“Yeah, that's why I haven't given her much shit. But is she up to the fight now?” Morton asked.

“Haven't talked to her yet, was going to after dis.” Roy replied. “Figured you guys needed to know what's up.” 

“We get nothing down here.” Morton muttered. “He did send someone but he didn't have many answers at all.”

“Won't be living up there.” Roy said. “I'll be staying in a tent. Won't happen again. Need to talk with Kylie, see what she wants to do.”

“Yeah, go talk to her.” said Morton. “I'm just glad that asshole isn't the king anymore. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, probably around 8. Not sure what you had in mind, but that's what we're doing.”

Roy shrugged. “I say go as one group. Doesn't matter to me.”

“Up to you. I take it you're keeping what he put in place too, right?”

Roy remembered the briefing he got from Larry regarding Ludwig's implementations. “You voted to make your own colony. You make the rules there. Kingdom will settle in the foothills. I will make some new rules there. Committee stays. Bartering stays. No easy way to print cash now. Can accept cash if you want, but won't last long. You'll see what's valuable and what's not. Will be setting up border patrols when we arrive. Will create a smaller cabinet. Need to still run things, not toss the reigns aside like Ludwig did. But no more big government. No regulations. No point. Look after each other, but be autonomous. Self ruling. Works both ways. You'll see.” He turned to leave and was impressed by how quiet the chamber was. Morton was more or less relieved to hear that Ludwig was gone and that they would not have to worry about the flying castle above them. Still, he decided to remain cautious as they all planned to move out the next morning.

* * *

With a smile, Kylie jotted down the next set of names that appeared in her mind onto her notepad. She would sort out the best ones later; they were all good, really. If she really had psychic powers, then she would already know the names of the eggs that lay in front of her, nestled together in a warming apparatus. But aside from what the wands powers gave her and her womanly intuition, she had none.

In her mind, a singular vision then came into view, her husband Ludwig being interrogated by the council inside of a magic spell of some type. Iggy's face came into focus. “Ludwig is being demoted due to his negligence over the Koopa Kingdom. Do you have anything to say in his support?”

But Kylie couldn't think of anything, too shock to come up with any words to reply. At length, Iggy's face shifted back towards Ludwig who began arguing for his cause but Kylie knew that something was wrong. Ludwig was not telling her the whole story. 

Suddenly, her mind became wracked with an intense pain as Ludwig began to devolve, his body shrinking to a degree and her mind link with him evaporating. Why was this happening? Iggy seemed to have caught her mind wandering as she was then sent the events that led to Ludwig's demotion, rebellion and all. 

“Oh dear...” she frowned, but the magnitude of the situation finally began to sink in. Ludwig was always stubborn about his ways, but this was out of line. It seemed the others didn't like his plan of rescuing everyone using the castle and wanted something different and he refused. Kylie knew that she was going to need to give him a good talking to. Shaking her head, she wished that she wasn't pregnant when all of this was happening, but there was no use crying over spilled milk.

A dull boom was heard, sounding similar to one of Ludwig's magic spells. As if on cue, a door opened down the hall and Ludwig emerged with the worst look on his face she had ever seen. He didn't look at her and seemed intent to cross the hall to his room.

“Where are you going?” she asked with a condescending tone.

“Why does this matter to you?” Ludwig growled back. 

Kylie inhaled, not happy. “Well, let's see. You're not King anymore, you're pissed off and you don't intend on telling me why. I'm still the Queen you know. I have to know what's going on.”

Ludwig looked at the ceiling with an annoyed look, but he gathered himself and finally looked at her. “It seems that my brother Roy has discovered my plans regarding the eventual rescue of the populace from the pending undulations. Careless of me to leave such plans behind.”

“Wait...” Kylie thought a moment. “That was your original plan, right? Then you made that speech and decided not to...I hope that wasn't politics.”

Ludwig turned away, looking out the window.

“Ludwig, that's not cool.” Kylie exclaimed. “You're not earning anyone's trust that way. I know about the whole arc strategy, but you can't force people to do what you want. If they don't want to, then they don't want to.”

“This plan was constructed under the arm of Naru for nearly 15 years.” Ludwig lamented. “The castle unknown to nearly all, the Doom Sub, the overthrow of Bowser, all so meticulously crafted to perfection, where no error would overthrow my creations or the future of my person. Even the arrival of the UmNaru was an adjustable act, due in part to infighting long expected amongst my brothers. But at the end of the day, when the fruit of my labors are finally unveiled and beheld to most, they turn away! Why?”

“Because you were trying to force them to ride the castle when they didn't want to.” answered Kylie.

“Why are these individuals not following orders?” Ludwig asked. “Surely they know what is best for them, an offering to save themselves from the looters who scrounge every crumb left from their bereft dreams. Broken from choices, they will weep over their loss and join the scoundrels and their infantile behaviors of living. If that is their choice, then let it be! They can die in misery with the rats.”

Kylie finally had enough of this shit. She stood up and pointed to a room down a hall to her right. “You need a time out, right now!”

“Are you telling me what to do?” he mused. 

“By your own rules, I can tell you what to do!” Kylie exclaimed. 

“Not much has changed it seems.” Ludwig muttered under his breath, but Kylie heard him.

“NOW!” she shouted, still pointing at the study hall. “And don't talk back to me until you fixed yourself up!” Despite his mental objections, Ludwig's gut told him to go and he did so, realizing he would lose the battle. The door shut behind him and Kylie was left alone again, filled with a million feelings at once. She just told off Ludwig! Kylie would've been proud of herself if this wasn't so serious. He was so stuck up in his dream that he couldn't let go of it, even when it didn't go the way he thought it would. He needed to learn that sometimes, things don't go the way you want them to and you needed to accept what happened. Kylie knew that he wouldn't have learned that as a King, being delusionally convinced that his old plan would work despite reality telling him otherwise. Not all dreams come true. Was this an example of denial?

“I need a drink.” she muttered, then remembering that she could actually have alcohol again since she was no longer pregnant. She walked over to a wall behind her and pressed a button, revealing a modest selection of wines, perfect for her current mood. She eyed the red ones, recognizing several that she had purchased herself.

“Does dis work?” she suddenly heard in her head.

“Roy?” she thought back. “Oh god, you're a king now?”

“Yup.”

“Larry chose you?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“Why?”

“Why not?” he countered.

“...I'm kidding.” Kylie made up her mind and took the Guenevere. “So what the hell have you been doing?”

“Learning.” he said. “Working from it. Didn't think I had a future. She gave me one. Larry gave me the chance. I got a future now, goes beyond me. Need to work together on dis.”

“I heard something about you and a woman.” Kylie admitted. 

“Yeah. My girl, Diadora Koopa. She's of the line of Inauro. That line, held captive for centuries. Wants vengeance. I know dat feeling. We got a future. But I'll talk about it later. Need to know what the castle is doing. We're heading out tomorrow.”

“What? Who?” Kylie asked, completely unaware.

“He didn't tell you?” Roy asked. 

Kylie opened the bottle and poured a glass. “Something about 'sending a minion to take care of it' was all he told me. I heard about all this trouble down there, but he wouldn't fill me in.” 

“Typical. Keeping you in da dark.”

“I guess so.”

“Morty has a whole group now waiting to leave. They voted on it, passed the committee. Happened when Ludwig got demoted. I got the bill. Separate from the Kingdom, found new colony at Bambesh Valley.”

“Such an asshole.” Kylie muttered aloud, unable to help herself. “Sorry.” she thought. “I don't know why he didn't tell me these things, since we were supposed be equals and all that.”

“He never played equals.” claimed Roy. “You must show him dat is the only way.”

“What's his problem, in your opinion?” Kylie wondered.

“Can't trust anybody, so no one trusts him. Simple as that. Can't trust people, people can't trust you. Can't trust yourself, well that's a problem.”

“Yeah...you know, he always had a hard time trusting people.” Kylie thought.

“He's digging a hole. Can help him if you want. But he has to change. It's all him.”

“I'll try.” said Kylie. “Outside of all this shit I have to do now. I mean, he never taught me how to fly this thing so we're just hovering here now and I don't expect him to drive it at all. I don't want him to, so I'll do it. Once I figure out how to jump through those hoops, then I can join you guys in your latest migration party.”

“Heh. Where you thinking of?”

“Nowhere near the valley.” said Kylie. “I don't want that to happen again. Maybe somewhere south of it? I really need a map cause I'm going by memory, but I don't want this floating behemoth over that place and have everyone pissed off at me for no reason. If its such a big deal, then maybe I'll make a speech. I haven't done that yet. New idea!” She wrote down a note to herself.

“Good. What will you say?” asked Roy. 

“I don't want to take you aboard my flying house and hold you prisoner, you can live out the life you want.” said Kylie. “Also, we need more...culture. It's the glue that keeps it all together you know.”

“I know.” Roy responded. “You got a good idea of it. I'll let you do it.”

“Cause you don't like speeches.” Kylie pointed out.

“Bingo. We leave at 8.”

“In the morning?!” That was too early for her.

“Yup. Dat's life.” Roy said. “Blame Morton. You can take your time. Meet us there when you figure things out. I need to go, more business.”

“Well, nice... thinking of you again?”

“Yeah. See ya.” Kylie drank the rest of her wine before shaking her head. How was she going to pilot this thing? Asking Ludwig was out of the question. In fact, she really didn't want to talk to him right now.

“Alright Kylie, get your scoots together. You're a one girl show now.” she told herself, then looked at her batch of seven eggs next to her. “Maybe I can fix your dad up before you guys and gals see the world. Cross our claws!” But first, she needed to sleep on it. For once, the monster bed was completely hers for the night and she didn't mind that at all. She just needed to lock the bedroom door.


	40. The Beginning of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Earth Changes continue to spiral, Roy and Morton begin their migration towards the Bambesh Valley while a few other things long in development finally begin to bear fruit.

A wooden desk and chair lay in the middle of the room, with a small filing cabinet to its right and a window that let in the morning sunshine which illuminated the scene. There was a long couch in the corner, next to which was an open walk-in closet that housed a number of boxes with a few of them opened. Walking to one of these boxes, he rummaged inside of it then pulled out an old binder with a bust of Kylie's mug, under which were the words “Song for Kylie.”

It took Ludwig a moment to remember. He was more amazed that he had completely forgotten about this piece, remembering how enamored he was with it. He opened it up and browsed through the music sheets, a solo on the grand, an intended serenade for his love back when they were younger. Why didn't he finish this?

The Galaxy. Ah yes, the station he was essentially forced to build under threat from his father. He was caught in its pull, of what luxury it offered and he forgot everything else. It was that kind of power, he realized. It was that kind of power that corrupted a being, setting him astray from what he really desired by not only magnifying his own fears, but his own ego.

“Do not abandon what you love to satisfy your own insecurities, hm?” he said to himself. It was a revelation he should've known from the beginning, but his arrogance had its way once his power was shown to the world. It was a power incorrectly used. Ludwig always meant good for his family, but expressing this through administration was not what he really intended and didn't seem to work itself out. Perhaps this was the cause of his self destruction?

Ludwig eyed the desk in the middle of the room. That's right, he needed to go back to his roots. No more holding on to things that he feared to lose. It was time to think from the heart.

* * *

The camp struggled to their feet as a loud noise billowed through the valley. Across the river, a cloud of ash was seen rising into the air, covering parts of the crags surrounding it. People were scrambling to get their gear together at the site and were grouping up in hurried discussions. Morton wandered across the mess hounded by people asking questions as he tried to answer them as much as possible, but that was not his real goal. It wasn't before long that Roy was found, inside of a ring of people giving instructions.

“Yo Roy, we're moving out.” Morton said.

“Yup. Take care of yourself.” Roy responded and said nothing else as he turned his attention back to the group. Well, that was easy. With a shrug, he turned to the people following him. “We're setting out right now. We'll take the old west road and stop at noon for lunch. You already know we can't use the jeeps anymore, so let's take this steady. Don't eat more than you need and try to conserve as much water as you can. If we keep a good clip it should take us less than five days to get there. Alright?” He made a motion with his arm and the rest followed him up a hill where many had gathered, waiting for the final preparations, eager to leave the volcano's vicinity.

Roy and the rest of the populace set out a half hour later and moved slower due to the increased load and number of people. Behind them, several other volcanoes had erupted, covering much of the crags in ash and dust. It was clear they were never going back that way. He spotted Ludwig's Castle still floating in its original spot. It was not moving.

“Hey, Kylie.” Roy said, via telepathy. In his mind, he saw Kylie struggling to open her eyes.

“...huh?”

“Kylie, move. Volcanoes are erupting outside.” he said. With a groan, Kylie sat up and got on her feet. She dragged herself to the window before going wide-eyed in alarm. “Oh crap!”

“Yeah. Not safe here anymore.” But she wasn't listening, instead struggling to put her bathrobe on. “I am not a morning person!” she cried in frustration before running out the room. Roy merely grunted. Kylie got herself into too much trouble, intended or not. 

Several minutes passed and nothing happened. The ash was slowly making its way down the slopes down towards the eastern edge of the valley. Roy saw Kylie at the bridge, trying to figure out how to fly the thing in a panic. Eventually she found the altitude lever and quickly rose vertically into the sky before halting high up. The castle seemed to jerk around a bit, flying this way and that before it finally flew towards the northwest over the vast waters of Lake Okawan. “I'm going back to sleep.” he heard Kylie say.

“Lucky you aren't down here.” Roy said.

“Sorry, but I'm not a morning person.” she yawned, getting up. “I need to feel my bed before I feel my head hitting the floor.”

“Heh.” Similar to Ludwig, but not nearly as arrogant.

They continued on that day, and in the late morning the sky became overcast with cloud cover and the temperature steadily rose ahead of it. Soon it was pouring, which slowed down the progress of both Koopalings. The road became muddy from the torrential rainfall and it deteriorated to the point that they started walking along its edges instead through the forest. It was here that a Koopa wearing a dark scarlet robe with a hood over her head walked up to Roy.

“Why did you let them go into the valley?” asked the woman. 

“Their choice.” Roy responded.

“They will all drown when Okawan floods it.”

“Told them that.” said Roy. “Their choice. They will probably run to the hills when it floods. Need to watch them. Full of bad types.”

“They split off because they hated Ludwig.” she said. “He never listened to them. You can't take a castle like that using the old ways. They want their own playing field and they got one now. King Larry made you the replacement. You've been on their side, they'll listen to you more closely. What will you do to stop them?”

“Larry made a good choice.” said Roy. “The Kingdom will be stable, until the shift. After that, who knows. The committee is the power of the land. Everyone decides. One Koopa don't make the rules anymore. Still have a cabinet, but it's everyone now.”

“How will that stop them?” she asked.

“They can't decide anything.” Roy replied, nodding to a scene of former businessmen arguing a distance behind her. It was no secret to Roy that many of the wealthy supported the split into the Bambesh Valley. “They will kill each other. Won't help others unless it helps themselves. Easy to pinpoint. Don't know how to support themselves and use the land. Old world falls away, Diadora. They can't let go of it. Ludwig can't, richmen can't, the fearful can't. Those who can will survive. Those who can't, they will dream until they die.”

“That doesn't stop what leftovers of my family that survived.” Diadora said. “They know who I carry. They will go after them. You have to protect me until they come of age.”

“You think they'll kill 'em?” Roy asked.

“Mixed bloods are outlawed. They don't take them as apprentices, they kill them. They aren't allowed to exist, but they have to exist, right now or we have no future. The rest of the line is getting what they want more or less.”

“Not for long.” said Roy. “What they have now means nothing in the next world. What we have now means everything.”

Lunch was difficult. Roy was concerned about starting a fire in the pouring rain. He didn't want to cheat and breathe fire on the wet wood. He needed to be the role model now. Instead he had tarps set up around a tight bunch of oak trees where less rain had seeped through. Nearby was a fallen tree, and digging through that he found a few pieces of timber and some dried leaves. “Works.” he muttered, then tossed them into a pile. Getting out his magnesium starter, he created showers of sparks until the drier parts of the pile let up in flames. “Make this quick.” he said and already a few cooks were putting a stand and pot above it.

“You have to teach me how to do that.” said Diadora.

“When we get there.” said Roy. “I don't like dis air.”

They ate lunch quickly, packed up and left. The rain continued until the late afternoon when it ceased, and by the evening hours they had mostly cleared, revealing a bright sunset ahead of them. The forest had faded into the flat badlands that surrounded much of the Koopahari Desert to their south. It was here that Roy called camp for the night. As the sun lowered towards the horizon, many people noticed a bright red orb to the sun's 4-o'clock and wondered if it was the Destroyer the monarchs had talked about. Roy overheard their commotion as he ate and nodded. “Yup. Dat's it.”

“Legends say it will be larger than the moon.” Diadora mentioned. 

“Heh. We'll be under cover by then.” said Roy. “Kingdom's gone, chaos everywhere then. We'll be covered.”

“Like kids hiding from each other.” 

“They'll act like kids then.” said Roy. “Doubt they'd grow out of it this time. We'll be hidden. Got--”

A large noise interrupted him then and he stood up immediately. The ground beneath his feet vibrated and the noise of what sounded like multiple off tune trumpets filled the air all around them. People stood in shock waiting for what would happen next. But the sounds died away, echoing into the distance. Roy took out his binoculars and looked into the distance around him. The noise returned again, and he noticed Lake Okawan two miles north of him and its water rippling.

“What the hell is that?” Kylie's voice blasted into his mind.

“It's right under you.” Roy responded. “Rock's moving. Wobble might be causing it. Destroyer? Don't know.”

“This is creepy...”

“Hope you got sleep.” Roy mused.

“Shut up, I'm fine. How long is this going to last?” Kylie asked. 

“Don't know. Luddy would.”

“I can't. No, I told him not to talk to me until he's fixed himself. Iggy would know.”

Roy grunted. Working with him was already annoying.

“The rock under Lake Okawan is pressing and sliding against each other.” echoed Iggy's voice in their minds. “It's going to be loud for a while, but you should be fine.”

“How you know this?” Roy asked.

“I don't have my satellites anymore, but I know a thing or two about geology.” Iggy responded. “You should be fine, Kylie too. Got to go, need to visit Lemmy.”

“Well, that's swell.” Kylie thought. “Could be worse you know.”

“Will be soon.” Roy muttered. 

“Talking to the circle again?” Diadora asked. 

“Yeah. Wondering what's up with dis noise.” Roy replied.

“That reminds me. You never told me about that dream you had.” Diadora said.

Roy sighed, uneasy. “Met aliens. They told me the policy. Not sure about this, thinking about it. They have a hand in dis. They're making the next race. Replacing this one, it has run its course.” 

“So there are aliens here! Figures. But why would they want to replace us...?”

“Run it's course.” Roy restated. “Planet is transforming. We can't live here for much longer. We choose. Our hearts decide. Help others, or help yourself. That's the game. You, or others. Dat's the next step. Life will help you choose.” Roy finished his meal. “Need to sleep on dis. Again.”

* * *

With a knife, Larry chopped up a Piranha Plant stem into smaller pieces inside of the makeshift kitchen he recently built in the corner of his room. Most of the food production was done on levels far below his and he had grown tired of walking that long distance to get a bite to eat, and so decided to build his own area to deal with his midnight cravings. Taking the chopped pieces, he tossed them into a large pot next to him that sat over a small fire. Taking a few leaves, he chopped them up into tiny pieces and tossed them in with the stems. Taking a bottle of honey he dribbled a bit into the pot before putting it away and sighing. He was glad that was over with. Tomorrow, things were going to be a little different. It was dark outside Genlic and he imagined that most people were already sleeping by now. 

“So the secret's out! The man can cook for himself.” he heard Mona say.

“I always did.” said Larry. “Why are you still up?”

“Waiting for you.” said Mona. “Haven't seen you all day. Did you learn anything from your sojourn?”

“Yeah.” Larry remembered what happened that morning. “Yeah, I needed that. There's only so many times you can do that, but with the way things were going I needed to think straight about it. No alcohol, no nothing.”

“Wow, didn't think I'd hear that.” said Mona. 

“Sometimes it's best to just let things flow. You want some of this?” Larry asked.

“You think I'm going to refuse?” asked Mona.

“No.” Larry put bluntly.

“Then why ask?”

“Because I'm being polite. I don't want to give you something you don't want.” said Larry.

“Oh, I go through that everyday.” she said, sitting over in a chair overlooking the western sea.

“You go through enough of it.” said Larry, stirring the pot.

“Are you actually offering to cook every night?” asked Mona. “Because that would be awesome.”

“I'll do it if we take turns.” Larry admitted.

“Oh alright. I'll go along with that.” With a whole spoon, Larry poured two bowls of soup and brought them both to a table nearby Mona before handing one to her. “Hot.”

“I know, right?” She put it in her lap almost immediately. 

“Tch. Told you.” Larry sat down.

“What is this?” Mona asked.

“Piranha Plant with chive, honey and cheese balls.”

“Cheese balls? They better be mozzarella.”

“Yeah they are. This is why I cook alone.” They sat in silence for a while as they ate their meal, watching the moon reflect off of the ocean.

“Why are you alone all the time?” Mona asked, too curious. “You care about people, so why not be with them?”

“So I can think.” Larry replied.

“...that's it?”

“Thinking alone is not like thinking with others.” Larry explained. “If I'm alone I can clear my mind and listen to myself, realign myself back to something more comfortable. I can't do that in front of people, especially with this position. I care about them, but I have to act my usual way.”

“Do you think you can find all your answers by yourself?” Mona asked rhetorically.

“Not all of them.” Larry admitted. “This sojourn was about removing my older brother Ludwig from power and I'm the only one who could do that, so I needed to think about it.”

“You had to get rid of King Ludwig?!” Mona looked surprised.

Larry nodded.

“What was wrong with him? He seemed fine to me. He was the popular choice and everything. Everyone wanted him to be the king.” 

“Iggy was right.” Larry said. “It's one thing to give a speech, it's another to show your intent. He was planning on a disaster in the Koopai Valley to give him the excuse to put most of the Kingdom inside his flying castle.”

“No way! Was that his survival shelter?” Mona asked.

“It was, but in reality it's nothing like a survival shelter. It has food synthesizers, bars, lounges, auto flush toilets...it's basically another Galaxy.” 

“Talk about deceptive.” Mona commented. “I guess that's his idea of survival. But there's so much that could go wrong with that setup. What if a hurricane pops out of nowhere? Or a mutiny when you can't land? Food synthesizers stop working? Toilets are broken? Where's he getting his water from? Talk about living in denial.”

“You're right, it was all deceptive.” said Larry. “A smooth talker with bad intent. I don't think he knows how bad it is. He ended up attacking us which pretty much sealed his fate.”

“Don't you have a Queen to help you with this?” Mona asked

“No. Why, are you offering?” Larry mused. 

“No. Then again, I don't like to see you like this.”

“What, pissed off?” Larry asked.

“Not happy, yeah.”

“That comes with the job.” snickered Larry. “Probably why I can't find one.”

“What do you actually do? You told me you were the King of the Blood, but never explained what you did.”

“I'm basically the head of the Koopa royal family. I make sure the descendants of Koopa all get along, appoint them positions based on their abilities and make sure we all survive in the end. This includes the rebellious parts of my family.” 

“I don't know how I could do that.” said Mona.

“Penny Crygor is Queen of the Spirit and she does it fine.” 

“Wait really?” Mona was surprised. “I thought you had to be a Koopa to do that stuff. How does that work?”

“There are three wands: Earth, Spirit and Blood.” explained Larry. “These three split into pairs, male and female. Each is supposed to represent the energies of that aspect of reality, positive and negative. When someone takes one of these wands, they become that embodiment and directly influence it upon the Koopa race. Spirit explains itself, influences the spiritual direction of the whole race. Earth monitors and administers the Kingdom itself while integrating the other two into physical reality. Blood, aside from being the head of the family is also the emotional and moral leader, supposed to be anyway. The whole system was designed for the Koopa race, but Penny proved that humans can do it too. The wands do change the DNA of the people who hold them. Penny is a bit taller now, but didn't get horns like the rest of us did.”

Mona snorted. “Penny with horns. They would be perfect for Wario. What else happened to her?”

“I can read the minds of everyone.” she heard in her head.

“Okay, that's a little creepy.” Mona said aloud.

“That's how we communicate.” Penny replied.

“So you can just see what I'm thinking?” Mona asked in her mind.

“Yes, I've been listening ever since you said my name.” said Penny. “It's a passive ability that comes with the Spirit Wand. The King or Queen of any wand can do that to each other, but the Spirit Wand can do it to anybody. It's about transparency. Secrets are known to everyone, so trust is the keyword.”

Mona was silent. Larry guessed that she was talking with one of the Spirit monarchs, possibly Penny. Taking his bowl, he got up and washed it out in a makeshift sink he set up using a five gallon water tank.

“You guys are together?” Mona thought. “I didn't think you were that kinky. It's always the silent types that surprise you.”

Mona could almost feel Penny blush on the other end. “No it's not that. We've known each other for a long time, we just didn't know why we were bickering so much. But I can read his thoughts now and everything makes sense.”

“Wish I could say the same about Larry.” Mona thought. “He lets me read a few pages of his book then closes it.”

“Then why don't you do him a favor?” Penny suggested.

“You mean I could read his thoughts that way?” Mona asked.

“Yes, and he would read yours.”

Mona folded her arms. “That's tempting, but I don't know. It doesn't seem right for someone like me to take it. I'm not a Koopa, I don't know his family very well.”

“I'm not and I don't either.” countered Penny. “I'm saying if you really care about him then you should do it. He needs all the help he can get.”

“I can't just take it though. I'd have to leave my post...wait, maybe not...” Mona suddenly felt unsure.

“Stop doubting yourself Mona.”

Mona huffed and looked back towards Larry. Yes, she had doubted a lot of this. She doubted herself more, but was a life of wondering really worth living for?

“Reality is better.” she said to herself, her confidence growing. She knew what to do now. No more guessing games. She needed to know.

“Larry.” Mona said, getting up. “I'll become Queen of the Blood if you answer one question...” 

“...what?” 

Mona walked over to him and grabbed his hand. “Do you love me?”

Larry was totally caught off guard and did not know what to say.

“I'm tired of playing games.” she said, looking intently at him. “If I'm going to be your Queen, then I need to know, if this goes beyond the flesh and we're something more than us.”

Larry suddenly laughed. It was the only thing he could do to express himself then. “Want to find out?”

Mona smiled. “You know me.”

“For my part yes, I do love you.” Larry admitted. “I just think we're both scared about it, after what we've been through.”

“Screw the past, it's over.” She embraced him. “I want to be here, right now. I want to feel your warmth...”

Tilting her chip up, Larry gave her a long kiss. Breaking away, she blushed smiled. “I didn't think I had it in me.”

“You have more than you think.” said Larry tenderly. “Thank you for joining me.”

“I joined you long before this. Let's do it.”

* * *

An ancient engraving depicting two hands, one reptilian and one of a mammal confused Lemmy as he tried to understand its meaning. It had to be more than literal, like Bowser and Peach. Angels & Demons? States of mind? Polarity? Polarity!

“Liiiiiiife!” Satisfied with solving the puzzle, Lemmy turned towards the elevator and saw his older brother Iggy walking down towards him. He seemed awfully amused with something.

“What?” Lemmy wondered. “What's so funny?”

“Oh, hi Lemmy.” Iggy responded. “It seems Penny got Larry and Mona to fall for each other but she doesn't want to take the credit.”

“Oh.” Lemmy remarked.

“Considering how expensive it is for most people to maintain relationships these days, I'm not surprised he didn't find another one after Ashley.” said Iggy. “People are going crazy after all.”

“Well, those modern people are.” said Lemmy. “They spin around in circles.”

“Anyway, you wanted to show me something down here?” Iggy asked.

“Yes...there's this odd thing I found and I don't know what it does.” Lemmy said. “I'll show you.” Lemmy walked down the hallway with Iggy following, the latter noting inscriptions on the wall of some kind of light beaming onto the land and people worshiping this. It was the first such inscription that he had seen, not being found anywhere else. It reminded Iggy of his own abilities, of unlocking the spiritual potential of Koopa but this didn't seem to be entirely spiritually related.

The hallway led to a large square, multi-layered courtyard in which many floors lay beneath them. The sound of running water was heard and Iggy saw that many of the hallways below had become like rivers, pouring their contents onto the floors below them. A large pool of water was seen at the bottom; it seemed that flooding had been a problem for some time. What was more remarkable to Iggy was that the location was within the arctic circle, and yet it seemed the ice was melting from the bottom up. This indicated a much larger problem. The Great Destroyer was the obvious cause, but how? Was it warming up the core of the planet somehow? If so...

“Just so you know, this flooding is not caused by the sun.” Iggy said as they continued onward.

“Yeah, I was wondering about that.” said Lemmy. “I saw these puddles of water on the surface and thought, could the sun cause that? It is the north pole after all.” 

“It is the Earth.” said Iggy.

“How?”

“Well, theoretically if you have a clog up of orbits like what exists now, then planets with active molten cores will heat up due to the friction of particle flows.” explained Iggy. “Magnetic, gravity and so on. It's like a car spinning its wheels and getting nowhere. It generates heat.”

“I should probably take everything out of here then...” Lemmy thought aloud.

“Well, if there are any relics down here, then I would get them to the surface as soon as possible.” said Iggy. “Living underground is a dangerous thing to do, with this being one example.”

“What about this thing?” Lemmy asked, pointing to a large purple crystal in front of him. It was at least 15 feet tall, stretching towards the ceiling and was surrounded by ancient Koopa dialect along the walls enclosing it and around the base. “I don't know what this is, but they're spread all over this place. I figured you might have an idea since you work with magic and all that stuff.”

“They're all over the place?” Iggy asked. “Are they just in this tomb?”

“No, the whole area has them.” Lemmy answered. “We've found tunnels that have them from my place down to the northern crags, and we think they go down to the Koopai Valley, but I don't know the area too well.”

“That's a mystery.” Iggy muttered. Through the vast neural network of the Koopa race, he could find no one alive that could explain what these crystals were for.

“Do you think these things could help us?” Lemmy asked, but Iggy did not respond. Instead, with an idea he took the Spirit Wand and tapped the crystal with it. The construct shined brightly, with many other places in the tomb flashing purple as well before all faded to nothingness again. Iggy hummed to himself, reading the ancient text below. 

“Well?” Lemmy asked, growing impatient.

“Dinner will be served when its ready.” Iggy muttered.

“That's what it says?!”

Iggy rolled his eyes. “No, I mean you need to be patient.”

“Oh.” Lemmy looked away, back towards the water that gushed through the hallways below. He was acting like a little kid and needed to stop.

“All of these crystals are linked together, that's obvious.” said Iggy. “Crystals are usually used to store information, frequencies, vibrations. They could be databases, then again the murals from earlier showed light, or something hitting the surface. These are purple crystals so that's high level...did these emit a fixed vibration to the surface to influence the population? That sounds desperate...” He noticed lines circumnavigating above the crystal's head. “A desperate Spirit King might try that.”

“Maybe they were too warlike and he had to calm them down without using drugs, torture or something.” Lemmy said. “I know they used drugs back then. But imagine if a whole people were evil and corrupt and the only ways...”

But Iggy wasn't listening as a light flashed in his mind then: the black fortress of Genlic lighting up brightly, before a beam shot out of its pinnacle into the sky. “Oh boy...” Iggy had forgotten to tell Larry something critical about having six monarchs, even though he himself didn't know the whole truth. He should have told Larry earlier, but now he could already see Mona's thoughts pop into his mind.

“So anyway, what do you thi---” Lemmy's voice suddenly ceased, and noticing this Iggy turned around to find that he had disappeared. A quick spell showed that he had been transported to Erzembar, probably by the computer himself.

“Iggy...Mona's the Blood Queen now, and Erzembar needs to talk to you.” he heard Penny say in his mind. “He says the Nexus needs to activate.” With a wave of his wand, Iggy disappeared and reappeared inside of Erzembar where Lemmy was being given a speech by Erzembar while Penny sat upon the spiral seat, seemingly watching.

“The circle is complete.” said Erzembar. “The six shall now triangulate the seventh point in pairs of three: the three kings and the three queens. The Nexus will then be initiated by the master, at which point the full potential of Koopa will be unleashed.”

“...is that a good thing?” Lemmy asked.

“Yes.” Erzembar flatly replied.

“What is the Nexus anyway?” Lemmy asked. “You said something about balancing people together.”

“It balances the powers within the circle into a cohesive unit.” said Erzembar. “Uninitiated, it remains a passive trait that is unable to be used to its maximum ability. However, if a Nexus becomes properly initiated than a range of new powers becomes available, some of which have not been seen for millenia.”

“Alright, what did I do?” Larry had suddenly warped in after seeing the madness in his head. Behind him came another, and Mona was seen, albeit with a new height and looking a little flustered.

“My fault, I should have told you the consequences for completing the circle of monarchs.” said Iggy.

“It is not an issue.” Erzembar claimed. “The energy flow from each initiate is now coalescing towards the central point. The final initiation, that of the Nexus must now begin to fully integrate the circle into its full capability. This must be completed within a chamber that lies directly below the Eternal Fortress Genlic, or in other words the original landing site of Koopa. Contact via magical means is impossible due to its construction, so monitoring the process inside is impossible. Either the King or Queen of the Blood must accompany the chosen Nexus to open the gate into the Tomb of Koopa.”

“I didn't know there was something below Genlic.” Mona mentioned. “There is that plaque on the last level honoring the “Great Koopa” but I didn't see anything else down there.”

“To be honest, I had a feeling there was something there for a while.” Larry said. “Not just a gut feeling considering how sneaky my family is, but from dreams I've been having about exploring some strange cave below Genlic with sparkling lights.”

“My guess is that you're preparing yourself to go down below the last level.” said Iggy, seeing his mind. 

“Probably...” Larry said, getting what Iggy was hinting at. 

“You never told me that.” said Mona. “Does it have to do with the waterways?”

“I did see a lot of water, underground rivers and stuff like that. There's paths that run through there.”

“Indeed.” Erzembar confirmed. “The journey towards the tomb intertwines through rivers that pass below Genlic.”

“I'll do this.” said Larry. “You can take care of business while I'm gone.”

“So I can just take your seat?” Mona asked.

“Pretty much. Hopefully they wont give you a hard time over it.” said Larry.

“Yeah, I was thinking that. They're going to want a message from you, or something.”

“Then let's go now. We'll tell the council before I leave with Lemmy.”

“So I get to finally see Genlic! Awesome!” Lemmy said. “Wait...I should probably tell the dudes at my place where I'm headed off to or they'll get worried.”

“You can do that right now with any of the magically inclined at your shelter.” said Iggy. But then he remembered that the globe used to monitor the thoughts of the Koopa race had been destroyed.

“How?” Lemmy asked.

“That thing was so useful...” Iggy muttered under his breath. “Well you can cast a spell to your Magikoopa group and they can tell the others.”

“You know me.” said Lemmy. “I'm magically retarded.”

“You don't have to be.” Iggy pointed out. “You do know that you wield the most powerful wand in the world, right?”

“This thing?” Lemmy took out the Wand of Koopa and examined it. “Yeah, I've read that before. But...it's like this. If I take up using this all the time then I'll end up relying on it when I don't need to. Do I need it for circus tricks? No, but it would help, yeah. Do I need it to replace my cell phone? Maybe if I'm desperate. Do I need it to fight people with? When was the last time I fought someone...besides knocking Roy's brains out?” 

“So you're magically conservative.” Mona pointed out. “There's nothing wrong with that. After that whole civil war you guys went through, I'd rather not dabble in that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, see? It just hurts people.” said Lemmy. “And it makes me forget more important things because it's always on my mind.”

“Well, if you don't want the wand you can always give it to someone else.” said Larry.

“No, I'll keep it and do this Nexus thing.” said Lemmy. “I can see how important that is. I just don't want to use this thing unless I have to. That's all.”

“Does that include talking to others long distance?” Iggy asked.

Lemmy gave him a look. “You already know the answer to that. Not with this wand.” Putting the Wand of Koopa away, he took out his own wand and with an orange swirl, the face of a Magikoopa appeared. “Hello Lemmy, what is the problem?” he asked.

“I have to do some politics.” said Lemmy. “Involves me and the family, so you'll have to take the usual steps when I'm not around.”

“How long will you be gone for?” the Magikoopa asked.

Lemmy shrugged. “Maybe 24 hours, I don't know. It's a quest, so it's one of those things.”

“Gotcha. I'll let E. Gadd and the others know.” the Magikoopa said before the spell disappeared.

“Alright, let's get this started.” said Larry, motioning Lemmy to follow. 

“Please inform me when you reach the gate to the Tomb of Koopa.” said Erzembar. “You will more than likely require my assistance.” Larry then cast a spell and he, Mona and Lemmy disappeared all at once, returning to Genlic. 

“How does all of this help us when the world is ending and we need food to eat?” Penny asked. “People won't be caring about authority, except for those religious nuts outside of here.”

“A strong leadership will be needed following the cataclysms that will strike the world.” Erzembar explained. “The circle is meant to function as a role model of governance, not just over the people but as a model for each individual reality. If the Earth King encourages living off the land, then others may then do the same.”

“Maybe. So it more or less boils down to individual choice.” Penny said.

“Yes, and choices are going to get more and more difficult.” said Iggy. “On the surface, there doesn't seem to be much of a reason for a Nexus especially with the perspective of basic survival, but when you put the pieces together and realize how interconnected everyone is, then as long as the incarnate spirit is within the service to others orientation, then it can only help the rebuilding process.”

“But I think most people will not be thinking that way.” said Penny. “They'll be thinking for themselves and the people they love around them.”

“That is because of many reasons.” said Iggy. 

“I know, you get desperate and then you think for yourself.” Penny answered. “But this is already spreading everywhere. Look at how they think, they only care about the now and how they will survive the next day. How will a Nexus help them?”

“You forget.” said Iggy. “Their decisions are not entirely mental in nature, but are rooted in spirituality. This is a decision from their soul, to only care for themselves. It shows their selfishness, their immature selfishness. The fact that they refuse to help those around them shows that they will not make the grade to the 4th dimension. The Nexus is meant to be a spiritual leader meant to integrate the aspects of the three wands together, and Lemmy is somebody that has a passion for helping out others. It's not just his mind, it's his spirit. It is very service to others. Through spiritual decisions, all else falls into place.”

“I don't know if everyone will be able to see it that way.” said Penny. “You have to count the insanity that will rise, the starving who will not be able to think correctly, people who will try to kill and steal from others.”

“Again, these are physical problems. What matters in life is the evolution of the spirit.” said Iggy. “You're right, not everyone will see it that way because not everyone is spiritually mature enough to see it that way. Choices reflect the spiritual orientation of an incarnated being. If a spirit decides to form a gang and steal goods from others, then he is announcing his orientation in this way. If Lemmy decides to save a group of stranded orphans from a blizzard at a great cost to himself, then he is indicating his orientation. Mind you, it doesn't take merely one decision to make that orientation choice, it takes lifetimes of choices for the soul to decide which orientation to take, but the point remains. If the Nexus becomes a role model for those who wish to be service to others and practices what he preaches in reality, then he is being more than a leader in many respects. It isn't just about physically leading a people, it is about enlightening souls towards further growth into an orientation that most souls take.”

Penny digested that for a moment. “So for the one's that are injured and suffering, what do they do?”

“Then they make the best of the situation.” said Iggy. “They decide, what use can I be for others in this state? If not useful, then this might sound heartless but it might be best to end the incarnation. This includes those with diabetes, cancers or others who rely on medications. Of course, those will stop shortly if they haven't done so already, but if they rely on something like that to keep them alive or for people to tend to their injuries and health problems, then they'll more than likely be nothing but a burden on others. Of course, their choice to stay alive lies solely on the spirit within them. It's times of distress like these that forces us to make these kinds of choices that define our soul growth, and this I think is what Lemmy should demonstrate as Nexus after balancing out our powers together into a greater whole and executing what is considered to be the best choices for each situation as he knows them.”

“Then the majority really are immature spirits, aren't they?” asked Penny. “They become more and more self absorbed as the transformation rolls along. I see it in their minds when they debate with themselves. They really don't know what path to take.”

“Yes, the majority are.” said Iggy. “Most will not be reincarnating here on this planet once their incarnation ends.”

“Right, I remember the Kappur talking about that.” said Penny. “That seems to make more sense now. It's just that their thoughts can sometimes get to me. It can be hard to separate their thoughts from your own thoughts.”

“It takes a lot of discipline and knowing what and who to listen to.” Iggy responded. “Not to mention self control. It helps to move the mind away from insane mindsets to ones more organized, say at Genlic.”

Penny laughed. “Thanks, that helps.”

Iggy smiled. “Yeah, Lemmy is a goof ball.” He was already treating guests there and he had just arrived.

* * *

After successfully landing on his feet, Luigi looked behind him towards the eastern Koopa Crags that had been troubling him for the past few days. They had suddenly become extremely volatile after that fateful day when they seemed to explode all around him as he tracked across the road towards Sarasaland. It was enough to try and dodge each erupting volcano, never mind trying to find a path back down the other side when the road became blocked by lava flows and debris. Nevertheless, with the help of a super leaf Luigi managed to run off an escarpment and float his way down to the bottom of the crags with relative ease. He saw the road appear out of a landslide to his right, winding out in front of him into the kingdom of Chai.

Fishing inside his tool belt, Luigi pulled out an old pocket mirror to see any damage that he had incurred back in the now darkened Crags. His face was covered with dirt and ash, and his mustache was now completely burrowed inside a full facial beard that he had not been able to take care of. He never brought a razor blade with him, and had later decided he was better traveling about with some kind of disguise anyway. He wiped his face off with a small handkerchief, happy that he was finally out of that mess. 

Still, he knew he could use some water. His rations were getting low, having used much of his water pouch in the Crags due to the volcanic heat. He needed to find a river and that motivated him to set off again on the road into Chai.

For the first few hours the road was uneventful. The only things that Luigi noticed were the road's terrible condition and a lack of power-ups. He guessed that someone had been through the area recently but with the lack of tracks, it was impossible to tell who had been through the area. He also noted several warp pipes already beginning to succumb to plant overgrowth and general lack of care, even spotting the one he would have used if things were more normal. It was now bending at about a 45 degree angle, indicating that the area suffered Earthquakes recently. As Luigi thought, travel via pipe was impossible and he was glad that he took the path that he did, despite the difficulties.

At length, he reached what he knew to be the Dao river, but it looked nothing like he remembered it. Originally a quarter of a mile wide, it was now nothing more than a small stream with a long rope bridge crossing a much smaller hazard. Ignoring this, Luigi jumped down into the riverbed and pulled out a micro filter that he had purchased back in the Koopa Kingdom. Also grabbing his water pack, he spent the next 15 minutes cyphering water from the stream through the filter and into his pack, a process that was slower than he imagined. Filling up the pack, he headed back up the old riverbank where he started a fire with a flint of magnesium before boiling the water in a small pot that barely fit inside his tool belt. Luigi ate his last mushroom before refilling the pack and extinguishing the flames. Burying the ashes, he got up and walked across the rope bridge and continued on his way to Daisy's Castle.

It wasn't before long that a horrible stench filled Luigi's nostrils. It smelled like death and it immediately reminded him of the pile of corpses he saw back at the Koopa Kingdom. This smelled a little different though...something more aquatic. Sure enough, he reached the shores of a large lake, which was dotted with smaller islets and ? Blocks along with a few Green ! Blocks outlined in the distance. But in the waters he saw thousands of dead cheep cheeps floating all along its surface and the sight made Luigi feel nauseous. Wasting no time, he jumped onto a ? block and hopped across the lake as fast as he could, only stopping once to pocket a fire flower he found by accident. It seemed that there were more than Earthquakes affecting the area.

Hopping off the last block, Luigi traveled through a small forest before he reached a paved road that ran through it. Knowing it led to the castle, Luigi followed alongside it, trying not to draw attention from any that may have been watching. At length, the forest cleared and the remains of civilization began to appear. Abandoned cars were the first obvious sign that increased as Luigi traveled onward. Buildings appeared along the roadway, clearly abandoned with broken doors and windows. Many sported cracks in the brickwork, confirming Luigi's fears. As if on cue, there was a loud noise that sounded like an explosion, and the ground rumbled beneath him for several seconds. In the distance, he saw one building fall forward and completely collapse into dust. Things were getting worse. In the distance he could see Daisy's Castle resting upon a hill with seemingly little damage, aside from a tower that was partially missing on its eastern flank. The sun was lowering towards the horizon behind him, illuminating the sight in yellow and orange.

Luigi snaked through the automobiles and, after hearing what sounded like a voice, hugged the walls of one abandoned home before staying still. 

“She was a cunt.” came a voice. “Ripped her to shreds. Bitches don't know respect nowadays.” 

“So she wouldn't take it?” came another voice, this one more rugged.

“Yeah, that bitch wouldn't take it.” continued the first. “Told her to suck it and she starting fighting. Dumb ass, she went for my balls, right? So I cunt punted her. That did her in, rest was easy.” he laughed. “I put a shot in each of her tits before blowing her brains out. You don't fuck with me like that.” 

“Where'd you dump the body?” asked the other.

“Heh, you're not getting any seconds man.” said the first. “She's in one of the swamps around here.”

“Fuck, if I still had my girl I'd do so much shit to her. I wouldn't be here right now.”

“Oh yeah, we gotta head back. Sun's going down.” There was some movement outside the wall.

“Where the fuck is the other shift?” asked the second.

“Fuck them. My time's up.” One was heard walking away. “I'm getting my fix.” 

“Let's see how the boss takes this.” said the second, now walking off. “If someone sneaks in, we're fucked.”

“We aren't. Next shift is if they don't haul ass.”

“Probably tripping on those shrooms. This place is fucked up, man. I'm telling you.”

Their voices faded and Luigi's anger subsided, grateful that he hadn't let go and jumped them right there. These were definitely not Daisy's troops and he guessed that the area had been taken over by a rouge group. With some courage, Luigi peeked around the corner and saw two humans walking off down a hill towards Daisy's Castle. They wore everyday clothing but what was most disturbing were the guns they carried. Those were not manufactured in this world and Luigi's heart sank once he put the pieces together. He guessed that Waluigi had made it to Sarasaland and seemingly had brought in humans from Earth to make up his new militia. From what Luigi knew, the pipes that led back to Brooklyn had been blocked some time ago by landslides and Earthquakes. That was the report that he was given during the final days of the Galaxy. But that brought up a thought that he long had that never remained answered: were there pipes other than the one that led to Brooklyn? Did Waluigi find another pipe that led to Earth? If that was the case, Luigi needed to bring him down as soon as possible. This world did not need humans ruining it. It had enough problems of its own.

With the coast clear, Luigi snuck out of the building and followed the trail of the two humans as close as he could. Reaching closer to the small town that surrounded the castle, he darted inside of a large two story building that was dark and appeared abandoned. Sneaking inside the back patio, he walked in and found the place to be a mess. The kitchen was ransacked with pots and pans strewn across the ground and many of the windows were broken. Thinking, Luigi looked about and eventually found a door to the cellar and, using Kamek's wand as a flashlight descended downwards before closing the door behind him. Once reaching the bottom, he was lucky and found an oil lamp resting upon a box at the last step. Using his flint, he ignited it and got a better look around the area. It seemed to be largely a storage unit with boxes littered about, and Luigi felt that it was a good place to spend the night. He spotted an old set of stacked lawn chairs next to a group of boxes and he took one of them and placed it in the corner behind the stairway. Sitting down, he decided to get some sleep before he would begin his evening intrusion into the castle.


	41. The Next Generation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a conference with the Koopa Kingdom, Kylie returns to her kids hatching from their eggs. Meanwhile, Larry searches the core of the Galaxy for some answers before heading off to initiate Lemmy, but things do not go as planned.

Inside of the bridge of Ludwig's Castle, Kylie Koopa put her finishing touches on the speech she had been preparing for. It was an easy thing to do, to write something on paper, but to say it was another. She was not an orator like her husband Ludwig, who now refused to leave the room he had confined himself to. She instead opted to write it down, and with the raging storm and howling winds outside, it only served to fuel her creative process.

But as Kylie looked outside across the waters towards Bambesh Valley, she realized that these people were not going to care about theatrics. They didn't need a grandiose speech, they needed encouragement and guidance. Kylie looked at her draft. She was being too much like Ludwig. “Ah, just be yourself!” she cried in frustration and got up, now unsettled. 

“Yo.” came Roy's voice. “We got set up down here. They don't look happy.”

“Tell them its not about kingdom policies or any of that junk.” Kylie replied.

“Alright.” was his response. With that, Kylie walked off the bridge in search of a raincoat to wear.

* * *

It was close to supper time and many huddled inside the large tent were starving, wanting to get this over with. At least here it was dry: it had been pouring most of the day and trying to settle in the hills overlooking Bambesh Valley had been difficult as a result. The winds didn't help either and it was a wonder that their tent was staying up as it was. With his weather device, Roy had recorded speeds of 50-60 mph. While he had anchored the posts, he still didn't trust mother nature. 

Just then, Kylie abruptly entered the room causing a wide variety of reactions amongst those seated. Some waved but many were silent, already tired from the day. A few others shouted but they were largely ignored. She immediately beamed to Roy.

“Supper's done?” she asked.

“Cooking it now.” Roy responded. “Will this be boring?”

“No, this isn't a Ludwig speech.” Kylie said. “Why?”

“Cause we're already half asleep.” Roy replied.

“Well, this will wake you up.” Kylie said without elaborating, and turned to her audience. Many of the people there looked like their were trying not to burst out in anger, or had hidden issues that didn't want to be exposed on the surface. It wasn't surprising, but it was something easily forgotten especially when living inside a luxurious floating castle. It was a luxury to even live in that kind of reality. Most people had been forced from their imaginary worlds into the reality in front of their noses, and judging from their looks and body movements, it seemed they were trying their best to keep it all in. Kylie remembered the Kappur's warning on insanity and knew that she needed to constructively channel that out of everyone now or a disaster was in store for the future. She needed to put them into action.

“I get that you guys are depressed,” Kylie began, “And I get that you probably don't trust me at all. But unless you do something about it, then nothings going to change. That whole business of asking for something and getting it is gone. Speak easy, feel easy...it's a privilege, but that's gone now. We can't just give you what you ask for anymore, that was a luxury to begin with. You have to do this yourself. Children ask for help with the simplest things, but we're adults and adults are responsible for themselves. That doesn't stop some people from pretending they're babies, dressing in diapers at midnight with their mommies.”

Some seemed amused by that but Kylie continued. “You know, people who do that, acting like their five...they're trying to avoid responsibility, or being held accountable for others. That might have worked before, bit it wont work now. You are responsible for your own lives now. You can try and convince God, gods or whatever you believe in that you're too “little” to take on being responsible for yourself, but I think any intelligent creator will be able to see through that. So let's step up to the plate and take control of our own lives, okay?

“That being said, let's go over the basics. You need to grow your own food. Now we've given out seeds before we left the Koopai Valley, so use them! Each of you were given a manual on how to sustain yourself when Ludwig was still King. That's a good general guide to follow, but...”

“Have to adapt to your environment.” Roy cut in. “Don't expect 100% harvest with this weather, Rain, floods will wash the seeds out. Choose carefully, don't put them on a hill or anything like that. Build a greenhouse, protect them that way, Leave them in the open, then you got predators and other people stealing your food. Have to plan for that.”

“I'm not saying everyone has to be a farmer.” iterated Kylie. “There's plenty of other things to do. We need soap makers, doctors, knitters, brewers, leather workers, carpenters, candle makers, shoe makers, blacksmiths, even electricians. There's so many people that we need. Anybody here play music?”

A few hands went up. “You guys are so important to all of this. I hope you brought some instruments along, but if not there's a few from the castle you can use. We're going to need your uplifting spirits especially when things get worse down the road. It would be awesome if we could do a gig once a night to keep us in high spirits. But we can work on that during dinner. Yes, after I'm done we're all going to have a nice dinner prepared by a few chefs who decided to help get this ball rolling.”

Finally a few people were cheered up by this with a number of shouts and claps, though the majority still looked withdrawn and self absorbed. “Maybe we can get a few to play. We'll see.”

“DX'ers.” Roy called out. “This is a big thing. Internet's down for most people, so we need a replacement. King Larry wants a global shortwave radio network. Don't need repeaters or anything like that, too much power to run. For close quarters, use handheld transceivers. Long antennas. Long distance...we need bigger antennas that don't need much amplitude. We need to come up with something, determine propagation now and after the shift. Talk with Larry's crew on this. It's the way to stay connected after the shift. Oh yeah, free energy. If you know solar, wind power, hydro then we need you. Solar can charge the radio's, tablets, LED's, you name it. We'll set up a committee, come and say what your profession is and work it. List will be public. But remember this. You gotta do something if you want to eat, unless you grow your own stuff. Can't afford to sit there and do nothing anymore. It's part of the bartering system. Trade work for food. Sustainable that way. If you do nothing, you're dragging everyone else down. Do you part!”

“Side note: I'm putting forward a measure to get rid of the coin as currency until things settle down.” said Kylie. “It'll be in the People's Committee this week. There's not much point working for something that's practically worthless. Instead, trade shoes for a coat. Cook a meal for a place to stay for the night. Use your best judgment. My best advice? Try to stay busy. Never sit around, always be doing something. Cause when you're still, then those fears pop right back up again and that's what you gotta avoid.” She shrugged. “That's it. Any questions?”

Someone raised their hand. “How are your kids doing?”

“I was told they will hatch any day now.” Kylie replied. “But thank you for asking. I'll definitely let you know when they are born, and with a little magic show off their little faces.” She paused. “Okay, I think it's time for dinner.”

* * *

Kylie warped back to the castle and sighed to herself. She was stuffed from all the food and the endless bombardment of questions had already made her tired, despite the sun setting only an hour ago. She decided to take it easy and check up on her eggs before heading to her bedroom to write in her journal.

A she walked down the hall, she overhead a melody floating through the air and she immediately guessed that Ludwig was working on a piece. He had not emerged from his study since entering it, even when Kylie came to check up on him for a bite to eat and that's all he ever wanted: food. But as she drew closer to the living room where the eggs were stored, she realized the real source of the music. With a grand piano set up in the corner of the room, Ludwig was quickly pounding the keys oblivious to all else around him. Kylie, unsure what to do simply watched him wondering what he had in mind, missing that telepathic link that they previously shared together. His hair was more wild and messier than usual, which meant that he had indeed been working on something.

At length, he finished his piece with a dramatic pose stereotypical of the romantic period. Kylie applauded, but Ludwig didn't seem to acknowledge her as he was heard muttering to himself while looking over his music sheets, “A staccato Bb...” was all she heard as he penciled in a few notes, oblivious to who was behind him. Kylie walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. He suddenly tensed. “Hm?” He turned around.

“So...I see you're going back to your roots.” Kylie started.

“Verily, it is the only path worth treading upon for such an individual.” Ludwig quietly said. “To express the peaks and valleys in crescendos and pianissimos as a reflection of one's sojourn through life. I am currently experiencing such a decrescendo, a humiliator designed to realign ones perspective to the neutral base desires of the heart. Against your wishes, I found it necessary to venture outside my confinement despite not fully reorganizing my inner structure, which I will admit. However, this step is also fully necessary towards that process, a part of which you seemed to have overheard.”

“Is this what you've been working on?” Kylie asked.

Ludwig turned some pages and in response began his melody from the beginning. The end of it was not familiar to Kylie, but the beginning sounded awfully familiar. It was something from a long time ago and she remembered Ludwig telling her in a winery that he was making a song for her before humming some of the melody. If this was it, then Ludwig's fall from grace seemed to have done a number on him, but more importantly it seemed that he was returning to himself. While the song itself resembled a serenade with its slower tempo, the occasional bombastic chords suggested otherwise, perhaps what Ludwig had eluded to with a “sojourn.” This was more of a journey than a statement with years of love and turmoil translated into harmonies to be heartfully felt by all present. 

A noise suddenly came from the middle of the room. Ludwig abruptly stopped playing and turned, seeing one of the eggs beginning to crack. Kylie snapped out of her trance and her mind raced everywhere at the sight, realizing how unprepared she was for this. “You woke one of them up with your beautiful music, dear!”

Ludwig half smiled. He knew his work was far from over, but he had indeed accomplished something. “It is not just a single egg.” he pointed out, noting two other eggs that began to do the same thing while a third rocked back and forth. 

“They're going to hatch all at once, aren't they?” Kylie asked rhetorically. Ludwig got up and moving to a console in the back, began to press a number of codes into a numeric keypad. “Such is our luck.” he mused. “I hope the names are prepared.”

“Yes, you get first pick if its a boy.” said Kylie. “We went over this.”

An arm burst out of the first egg, followed by another next to it; it seemed this one needed no help in getting out. Ripping through the shell, it made a large hole before a small head poked out of it.

“Aww, it's so cute!” Unable to resist any longer, Kylie walked over and motioned it to keep trying. The head had a small tuft of dark blue hair, remarkably similar to Ludwig's but much thinner and longer, running behind the back of its head. The babe struggled to crawl out, its dark green shell getting stuck several times before its small spikes finally ripped through. Now free, it crawled out of the shell where it was eagerly picked up by Kylie.

“Look at you! Already doing things by yourself!” she exclaimed. “Ludwig, it's a boy!” But Ludwig was busy with the other hatching eggs, five in total now with a pile of blankets he had retrieved from the console earlier. “It seems I have my hands full.” he said.

“I'll take care of them.” Kylie said. “Here, take this one.” Ludwig grabbed a towel and wrapped the babe with it, noting its features. “Welcome to the world, Xavier. You have my hair and your grandfather's shell. An intriguing combination.” But he noted it again. “Hmm, not quite. It is somewhat darker than my fathers.”

Xavier laughed and started playing with Ludwig's hair. “I apologize for not grooming myself effectively, though it seems not to matter.”

“He likes you!” Kylie exclaimed before turning back to another babe trying to make its way out. Seeing several others in a similar state, Ludwig walked to a button on the wall next to the eggs and pressed it. Part of the wall unfolded creating a square playpen of sorts with a crisscross fence surrounding it. He carefully lay Xavier down upon his stomach before walking to Kylie who had another babe in her arms, this one a girl with long green hair and a light green shell. “This is Elizabeth Koopa.” Kylie said, handing her to Ludwig.

Another came out right after, following her big sister. “Oh, you got my eyes!” She had baby blue eyes with short spiky pink hair, a matching shell and a big smile.

“Then I will keep special watch on this one.” noted Ludwig.

“If she's going to be like me, then you better.” Kylie insisted.

“And this little devil is?”

“Oh. Shirley. Shirley Koopa.”

A thud interrupted her thoughts. Turning, she saw one of the eggs had rolled off and cracked in two, revealing a fiery haired Koopa with a white shell who looked rather disoriented. It got its bearing, but Kylie picked him up before any more damage could be done. The fifth egg rocked back and forth in seeming response, prompting Ludwig to stop it.

“A white shell!” Kylie said. “I have never seen those.”

“Hm?” Putting Shirley in the playpen, he took note of his features with some surprise. “They are extremely rare. I was unaware of our family even possessing such a trait. I understand this is Tommy, yes?” 

“Yes...” Ludwig took him and examined him carefully. But Tommy increasingly tried to crawl out of his arms, prompting Ludwig to put him in the playpen instead. “One rambunctious fellow.” He turned back to the rocking egg, which had shown signs of hatching. “This one has rhythm.”

But the egg suddenly fell down, cracking in two. Separating the pieces, Ludwig saw a Koopaling with long cyan hair and a matching shell, even lighter than Larry's. It was a girl. “Interesting. The acquired rhythm is apparent, indicating a potential creative ability. I do believe you are Samantha, yes?”

Kylie nodded. Ludwig handed the babe to her, still in thought. “I suppose passing along that genetic trait was inevitable.”

“Maybe she'll be a drummer for a heavy metal band.” Kylie mused. 

“Ugh.” Ludwig looked away. “The mere thought...I cannot fathom such a possibility.”

“You wouldn't know what to do with yourself.” Kylie laughed, reaching for the next egg. “It's okay, if she likes metal then I got her back.”

“It would be preferred if she practiced any of the concerto instruments.” said Ludwig, noticing Samantha slap his arms. “Even percussion would suffice.”

“Next one!” Kylie called out, prompting Ludwig to finally put the child in the crib. “This is Amy.” She was bald with a black shell similar to Morton's. The child simply looked at Ludwig as he picked her up. “You are not like your aunt.” he commented. “This is auspicious.”

“Why? Was she balling her eyes out when she was born?” Kylie asked.

“She caused quite the commotion within my father's halls at the time and could hardly be pleased with the usual strategies. Fortunately, this one appears to be the opposite.”

“After meeting her once, that was it for me. I just kept texting her after that.” said Kylie, turning to the seventh and last egg. But this one did not sport any cracks nor did it move. Kylie frowned, her heart sinking. “Don't be a dud, please...”

“It is entirely possible that it may hatch later.” said Ludwig, trying to reassure her. “Such was the case when my person hatched earlier than my brothers. Lemuel did not hatch for several weeks, for instance.” 

Kylie instinctively embraced the egg, not wanting to lose it. “There's something moving.” 

Ludwig raised an eyebrow. “And neither was Lemuel able to hatch his own egg. Is this the same?” Ludwig walked over and gently knocked on the egg. A thud came in response, but it wasn't strong enough to cause any cracks. Ludwig sighed. “If this is another case of Lemuel, then it is possible that the child is sickly and lacks the strength to break free. If true, then...” He got up and pulled out a drawer from underneath the egg warming device and took out what appeared to be a rubber hammer and chisel. “Yes, this is a risky procedure. However, if the child cannot break free then it will surely die.”

“What if its premature?” Kylie asked, wishing they had a real doctor.

“A quick ultrasounds could be taken if you wish, though I am fairly confident the child is fully matured.” said Ludwig.

“Please.” Getting up again, Ludwig walked over to the console and punched in a code. The egg jolted a few times, but Kylie felt that the kicks were weak. A part of her wanted to leave the child in there so it could develop more strength if possible.

Ludwig returned carrying a monitor with a strange contraption on the top of it. “Where do you get these things?” Kylie had to ask.

“It is from medical storage.” replied Ludwig. “During construction of the castle, one has much time to rethink through the details...as far as necessities are concerned.” Plugging it in, he took the contraption and stood it up on the monitor. A screen came up of the egg's interior, showing a small Koopa moving about slowly.

“All limbs accounted for, cranial development optimal for birth.” Ludwig muttered. “Slow movement indicates an internal upset. Organs are fully developed. Abnormal neural development has been detected however. It is necessary to manually hatch the egg.”

“Fine.” With that, he set the monitor aside and took the hammer and chisel. After a moment, Ludwig placed the chisel at the top of the egg and hit it once with the hammer. The egg cracked down to its middle, and the babe's subsequent kicks furthered their progress, albeit slowly. Growing impatient, Ludwig grabbed the egg's shell and carefully split it in half, revealing a small, pale Koopaling with a yellow shell and spiked whitish yellow hair, more white near the roots. It pathetically tried to crawl out of the broken shell, but was unable to do so.

Kylie grabbed and hugged it. “You poor thing. You're going to break my heart.”

“It must go to the infirmary immediately.” said Ludwig, frowning. “I do not trust it to survive on its own constitution for long.”

“'It' is Trent.” said Kylie. “Don't talk like he won't survive.”

“That was not my intention.” said Ludwig. “His survival is feasible, but will however require the use of various medical apparatuses. If you wish, I will bring Trent to the medical room immediately while you care for the others.”

Kylie handed the delicate Trent to Ludwig. “Be careful with him, he's really fragile.”

Ludwig nodded and without another word he briskly walked out of the room with Trent in tow. Kylie picked herself up and sighed. The kids were crying already and she was thankful she didn't have any of that ale that was offered during supper. It was going to be a long night as it was, but one thing brightened her spirits aside from seeing her children's faces: that Ludwig was there with her, and was mostly his usual lovable self.

But Tommy brought her back to reality when Kylie saw him trying to climb over the fence. “Tommy, no.” That was another thing she was going to need: a nanny. With the night still young, she wondered if there was still time to find one.

* * *

“Hey, what's this room?”

Larry looked to his right. “Oh, that's where we keep the core of the Galaxy.”

Lemmy perked up at that. “Is that the thing I overheard you guys talking about that one time...at Ludwig's party?”

“Yeah, just before he showed me his castle, or his pleasure hut.” said Larry, reminiscing those times. 

“...can I take a peek?” Lemmy asked.

Larry thought about it for a moment. “You know what? I keep forgetting to check something in that thing. Let's do it now.”

“Figures you guys had parties up there.” Mona commented as Larry opened the door, the walls seemingly falling away from them.

“I'm sure Wario cooked up something.” said Larry.

“He had these binges he would go on, then he loved to indulge in one of his favorite fantasies.” said Mona.

“What's that?” Larry asked, walking inside.

“Mass orgies.”

“Sounds just like him.” Larry commented.

“A glutton? Yeah. I'm sure the core has recorded every time he did that.”

“So we were all taped up there, weren't we?” asked Lemmy.

“You better believe it.” Larry replied. “Anything from eating out with your sweethearts from fucking them in your apartments then taking a dump afterwards. It's all here.”

“Wow...”

“I had a feeling I was being watched in the bathroom.” Mona muttered. “It's a gut feeling that tells you that one of the tiles was not like the others.”

“Why do you think the core has been sitting in the corner for so long?” Larry asked. “It has pictures of everyone that lived in the Galaxy naked and that alone is enough. It has videos of meetings that never officially happened, all of the initiation ceremonies for every member that ever lived there, secret council sessions, people who you'd never think would get together making out in the elevators...it's a gold mine basically.” The core itself was largely as it was left when Larry arrived with it at Genlic, spherical in design with wires running to and fro with monitors surrounding the device.

“I actually want to look at something when you're done.” said Lemmy. “Actually several things.”

“Don't make me curious about you now.” Mona warned.

Larry smirked. “I can't help myself. I'm actually looking for something above all this.” He booted up the core, which made a low whining hum before its power supply accelerated. “Still works.” he commented. The screens around him lit up to a bluish hue as it went through its boot sequence. With the wave of his hand, the door closed behind them. “This is actually top secret material. Normally with the collapse of civilization like this that wouldn't really matter, but in this case it still does so no one but us can see this...and I'm pretty sure it exists.”

“What are you looking for?” Mona asked.

“Answers.” replied Larry, searching through the archives. “And I know they haven't told me the whole story.” he turned around. “Plus, you two are part of the council now which means you need to know about the aliens anyway.”

“You see? It was a matter of time.” said Mona. “So I guess the head honcho's got cozy with them while leaving the rest of us in the dark. That's just like the Galaxy.”

“You said it.”

“We're all aliens anyway.” said Lemmy. “I don't see the big deal.”

“Let me put it this way.” Larry began. “Those who first met them thought everyone would be scared shitless of them so they chose not to announce their presence. But their involvement grew through the years and yet they still said nothing, thinking people would be too scared. Contact was limited to this group of people...consciously anyway. It never spread outside of this group aside from bedtime visits and other similar things that the waking mind wont remember. So in the end, we're aliens to ourselves.”

“If I know anything about this, their ego's probably couldn't stand confessing that little secret.” added Mona.

“More or less.” said Larry. “Probably would've been shameful to them if they tried.”

“I still don't get it.” said Lemmy.

“Imagine confessing your darkest sexual fantasies in front of millions of people.” said Mona. “It's kinda like that except you wouldn't just die of embarrassment, but from people who hated you.”

Lemmy tilted his head in thought. “Okay, I sort of get it. But if you're holding it in for that long, then you gotta pay some price for it, right? I don't think people would be that angry about it. They would be totally shocked and have no idea what to think, yeah. I think the old figureheads had no idea how people felt after living so long in their comfy worlds that their fears took them to places far from reality. Maybe they were actually ashamed of themselves?”

“Well, they never cared about people to begin with, so maybe you're right.” said Mona.

“If they're selfish, they would be ashamed, yes.” said Larry.

“I get it then.” Larry was close, narrowing down his search terms for the material he was looking for. He had found videos of flying saucers but it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. Larry already knew they were there for a long time. An idea came to him then, as silly as it was. He plugged in “K00-000” into the search engine and pressed enter. A number of videos were listed, all unnamed and with previews of a darkened room. “I think this is it.” said Larry, clicking on one of them.

The video loaded. The first thing seen was a giant stone star with eyes, surrounded by a ring of 12 smaller stars. The camera then moved downwards into a dark room with a number of spotlights surrounding its perimeter. In the center was a large stone table seated with exactly 13 individuals, but they were not easily made out. A window to the universe lay in front, near to which was the familiar silhouettes of Bowser and what Larry guessed was Mario. “Jackpot.” Larry said to himself.

“Will the order rise?” came a voice. All attendees stood up. “Protectors of the Earth! Do you stand as one?”

“I!” they all proclaimed.

“Then stand as the inheritors of your forefathers, of those who came before us to make this moment a reality, and the future a possibility. Hail the glorious dead!”

“Hail!” Then they all seated themselves and flipped open a portfolio in front of them, pouring through a number of papers. 

“Who are they?” asked Mona.

“The Reigning 13.” Larry replied. “The only people that are allowed conscious contact with aliens.”

“May the Reigning 13 come to order.” came another voice by coincidence. “Today's agenda concerns the hybrids and their potential interference to the current state. We shall call upon the Kappur to explain their current settlements across the surface of the Earth.”

“What?” Larry muttered aloud. They definitely did not tell him everything.

“Unless there is objection, then we shall call the Kappur forth to explain themselves.” After a few moments, there was a blue flash and a Kappur appeared in front of the window as all turned towards it. “I am ready to accept your questions.” came a deeper voice that resonated through the speakers. Somehow, they had converted telepathy to sound.

“When do you plan on having the hybrid's make contact after the pole shift?” came the voice of Mario.

“Following the pole shift, time is not necessarily the deciding factor.” the Kappur telepathically relayed. “The spiritual maturity of developing communities will be used as the judge. These communities must be entirely service to other to receive contact from ourselves or from the hybrids. This includes any assistance received by us as we discussed last week. The Earth is scheduled to become a service to other planet in the 4th dimension, and as such any other spiritual orientations will not qualify.”

“Woah, slow down Larry.” Mona said. Larry paused the video. “Is that a 'Kappur' or whatever they called it?”

“Yes, the ones who will inherit the planet.” said Larry.

“What are the hybrids?” Lemmy asked.

“Maybe it's better to see the aliens for yourself.” Larry said, despite wanting to watch the rest of the video. 

“We can do that? Awesome!” exclaimed Lemmy, suddenly excited. But Mona looked more cautious. “You can just do that?” she asked.

“We can give the call.” said Larry. “I have a lot of questions for them anyway. Someone will respond.”

“The Call?”

“It's a way to--” But Larry stopped short, suddenly turning and seemingly staring at a wall in front of him. Mona followed his gaze. “See that?” 

“I do.” she said. “What's she doing there?”

“I don't know, but she's supposed to be locked up.” Larry said. “Someone let her out, one of the UmNaru halfbloods. But I can't see him, he's shrouded.”

“Indeed, Wendy Koopa was freed by the current leader of the UmNaru.” came a voice in their minds They turned and saw a group of three Kappur standing behind them, staring intently at them.

“Holy crap.” Mona tried to gather herself together.

“Hi!” Lemmy waved, undaunted by their appearance.

“We apologize if we startled you by our arrival.” one said.

“It's a little different in person.” Larry admitted. “I think Mona will be alright.”

“Yeah, I'll just...hang in there.” Mona managed to say. “Never thought I'd meet...you guys in person.”

“We are here to help inform the races of this planet of the impending pole shift.” one said. “Much work has already been done on this matter, but much more also remains. The Reigning 13 was the only group that was allowed conscious contact with ourselves, the Kappur. This group has since disbanded and this responsibility has been shouldered by your council of monarchs. All other entities are contacted via subconscious mind. This is a rule imposed on your planet by the Galactic Council, who oversees such affairs.”

“I don't want to interrupt, but I need to know what Wendy's intentions are.” said Larry. “She could destabilize that whole region unless something is done.”

“Wendy is now merely a puppet for the current head of the UmNaru remnant, Narec Morello Koopa.” the Kappur stated. “He is the nephew of the now deceased Dac'Leon. He wishes to re-establish the old lineage by taking advantage of Roy's situation. In the meantime, Wendy is being goaded in becoming the next Queen of the Earth, a task not difficult given her demeanor.”

Larry heard a loud roar in his head. Once seeing the situation, he quickly put the pieces together. “Shit, that's his plan?!” He immediately cast a spell and Roy appeared in front of him, just finishing breathing fire at the ceiling in anger. “Where da fuck are my kids? They were born 2 hours ago. Not right, man. Not right at all! Someone's paying for this shit!”

“They were taken alive with Diadora to the underbelly of John's Castle.” said one Kappur, causing Roy to calm down by their presence. “They plan on indoctrinating them into their discipline as a means of continuing their religion.”

“Not happening.” said Roy. “I'm killin' the fuck responsible.”

“His name is Narec Morello.” said Larry. “With special thanks from Wendy whom they let out.” 

“That's their puppet.” growled Roy. “They all need to die. I'm going.”

“Hold up. Who's going to look after the valley when you're gone?” Larry asked. 

“Kylie's got that.” said Roy, but he thought twice about it. “Still gotta talk to her. They're trying to pull me out.”

“They intend to lure you into the Old Kingdom, hoping you will return to their fold.” the Kappur explained. “With your departure, they also seek to destabilize the region and guide events more to their liking.”

“Not good.” Roy muttered. “Kylie needs protection. Not Ludwig, someone powerful. They will skirt her if left like this.” He pointed at Lemmy. “You could. They hate the Wand of Koopa, they can't fight it.”

“Do you remember what happened to me back during that little war?” said Lemmy. “I was totally taken down. I might have the wand, but I'm no good at fighting with it.” 

“Lemmy's got a point.” said Larry. “I think Iggy would be better for the job.”

Roy grunted.

“I know you don't like him, but with his massive aura of white magic he can protect that whole area from UnNaru intrusion.” explained Larry. “Otherwise, they will work around any ruler in any way they can and take control behind the scenes.”

“How about having Lemmy watch over the valley while Iggy watches the area around it?” Mona suggested. “That way you can keep their morale up while keeping anyone evil out.”

“Could do that.” Roy admitted.

“I heard my name.” Iggy said, popping in out of nowhere with a flash. “Oh, hello Kappur.”

“We recommend creating an action plan soon.” the Kappur advised. “More Earth adjustments are coming shortly.”

“Today?” Iggy asked.

“Yes.” they simply responded.

“Well, the UmNaru made their move, so we need someone to watch over the area surrounding the valley.” Larry explained. “They got in and stole Diadora's eggs so the area will need protection from them.”

“Minus the common lessons that must be learned, I agree.” said Iggy. “I'll expand the sphere northwards to cover the lands surrounding them with enough white spectrum magic to persuade them to move back. Lemmy, you should keep an eye on the valley when Roy's gone. Kylie has her hands full at the moment with her new kids.”

“Yeah, busy day this is.” Larry thought.

“Then I have a small question.” said Lemmy. “What are the real benefits of becoming initiated into the Nexus? Erzembar doesn't say much about it and I'm still kind of clueless as how this would help me or anyone right now.”

“The Nexus is a role designed for the pinnacle of Koopa society.” one Kappur explained. “After undergoing initiation below where we now stand, the Nexus gains the ability to channel the consciousness of Koopa himself and in this way acts as a guide in all matters. Granted, this is not the true soul of Koopa which has long incarnated into other lifeforms since his time, and this consciousness is but a copy of the original. The Nexus also gains the ability to more accurately balance the powers of the monarchs and equalize their impact upon society, which is a subtle ability first inherited upon gaining the position. However, we must say that initiation is possible without visiting the underground, similar to crowning or de-crowning a King or Queen.”

“So, it sounds like it doesn't matter too much.” said Lemmy.

“Why is Erzembar pushing us to do this?” Iggy asked.

“The old wizened computer has seen many millenia go by without a Nexus and as such, unable to talk to his father. Not only being the great balancer of your race, the Nexus is how Erzembar talks to his father as the chamber where he rests is impervious to magic. Simple as that.”

“I think we need to trust ourselves more often.” Larry commented. “It's clear the computer is not totally impartial.”

“He's not.” said Iggy. “I'm a little surprised he refused to tell us the full range of the Nexus's abilities.” He sighed. “I guess Penny and I will be doing this on our own from now on.”

Larry almost asked Iggy why he said nothing of Narec's appearance, but decided not to after remembering what happened during the council earlier. It was “his problem.”

“I'm headin' back.” said Roy. “Kylie's got her kids now. Need to figure out what to do next. Will need to talk with you Lemmy, if you want to do it.”

“I'll do it.” said Lemmy. “I'm no King, but I guess I can look after things. There's one thing I want to check before going, so I'll catch up later.”

“Similarly, we shall also depart if your questions have been answered.” said one Kappur. With that, they warped out in a blue light, closely followed by Roy who left in a white flash.

“At this point, it's better to rely on our own judgment.” said Iggy. “We're real and he's not, in a sense.”

“I wanted to ask him about those hybrid communities, but it wasn't the right time.” said Larry.

“The ones living here?” Iggy asked. 

“Yeah, they never said much about them.” said Larry.

“They probably want us focused on our own lessons.” said Iggy. “We are facing a pole shift after all.”

Meanwhile, Lemmy had walked over to the core and began searching for Bowser in the database. No sooner had he done this that the ground suddenly trembled beneath them.

“That must be the adjustment.” said Iggy. “The wobble has been getting worse. If this is a magnetic lean into opposition, then I should head back.” The ground rumbled again, nearly knocking them off their feet.

“Go.” Larry commanded. Iggy disappeared in a flash of light leaving the original three behind. 

“Maybe I should get going then...” Lemmy said turning around, but suddenly he went wide eyed at what he saw. He pointed towards the hallway behind them. “Run...must run...”

Both turned and through the walls they saw the shape of an enormous wave rolling towards them in the distance, at least 50 feet high as it rose above the cliff face. “...shit.” Larry muttered. “Lemmy, get out of here.” 

“Going.” Lemmy disappeared, deciding to check in on his own shelter before walking with Roy.

“Come on Mona, we got to get those squatters to higher ground.” He grabbed his transceiver and sent a call tone out. “Code 9, code 9. Tsunami incoming.”

“This just got real.” was all Mona could say as she stared at the wall of water headed towards her, unmoving. 

“Hey, you can do this.” Larry said, shaking her shoulders. “It's time for a workout, not a movie.”

“I'll work on screaming at the top of my lungs.” Mona said, looking at him.

“Good practice for the real thing.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Come on, let's go scream our hearts out.”

She laughed, her spirits rising despite the impending doom that awaited many. With their wands, they both teleported to the roof of Genlic where the whole scenario could be seen. People below were in a maddened frenzy with many already fleeing eastwards away from the incoming wave. Others on the rooftop were shouting commands to those below and speaking frantically through their radios.

Larry took up his wand. “Tsunami incoming! Run to the east! Now!” His voice boomed across the land, but it did little to stop many from running to the front gates of Genlic and demanding they be let in.

“Please, just run!” Mona cried at those banging on the gate. “We can't let you in! You can take care of yourselves! Run, please!” But they largely did not listen, too deep in their madness to reason.

The wave crashed onto the cliff face splashing high into the air, water spraying down on those below. Behind it, a force of water quickly moved inland hitting the ground level of Genlic with a thud. Many on the roof were swept off their feet, including Mona who hit the ground with a groan. Larry ran over and helped her up, but then suddenly darted off to the other side of the roof where Koopa was hanging on to the edge for dear life. Sliding down, Larry grabbed Kooper's hand and with a thrust hoisted him back up to the roof as the waters reached the other side of Genlic.

“You alright?” Larry asked, and Kooper merely nodded his head. Walking back to Mona, he looked over the side and was immediately saddened by what he saw. The water had washed away many of the shelters that had been set up along with a majority of the people that were below just earlier. Now frantically trying to swim out of the water, they were pulled back by the rip tide towards the west and were helpless to do anything, the current too strong for them to fight. Larry watched in horror as hundreds of people were sent over the cliff face into the rocky ocean below with their screams drowning out inside the disastrous tide. Everyone on the roof fell silent at the sight as most of the squatters were simply washed away, leaving a mess of debris scattered behind them. Only a few smaller waves lapped the surface before the seas subsided, the tsunami effectively over.

“Wow...” Larry rubbed his forehead. He didn't expect that to happen so soon. He guessed an Earthquake had occurred off the coast causing a tsunami, but he still wished this could've had a better ending. “How's it looking below?” Larry said into his radio.

“Uh...people are really shaken up.” came the voice of a Toad.

“Okay, keep them busy and make sure the unstable ones don't look outside.” said Larry. “I'm going to need help cleaning up out here.”

“Roger, we'll send a squad up.” came the response.

“Thank you.” Larry put his radio away and looked around him. Most looked like they were in a state of shock with only a few talking into their radios. A hand touched his shoulder. “I'll get the inside, you get the outside.” Mona said to him.

Larry nodded, and Mona walked past him towards the light elevator in the corner.

“I'll go with her.” Kooper said, having had enough. Following his path, Larry noticed Bombette sitting down talking to herself with a very intent stare.

“Hey Kooper, take her with you.” said Larry, pointing to the pink bob-omb. Bombette didn't seem to notice and eventually Kooper had to pick her off her feet before they descended.

“We're going to comb the wreckage for any corpses.” said Larry. “Because...frankly, the desperate may come back and eat them. We'll throw them into a pile and set it ablaze before that happens. If their relatives stop by and want the body then give it to them, but otherwise...just burn it, They're gonna come back to salvage what they can. For now, just put it all in a separate pile and we'll decide if we should burn it or not.”

“...this sucks.” Goombario muttered.

“Yes, but we gotta do it.” said Larry, walking towards the light elevator. “Let's get this done.” Before he entered, a thought came to him and he stepped to the side. “Larry here. How are the root cellars on the western end?”

“One of them flooded, we're down here looking at the damage right now.” came the reply.

“Alright, salvage what you can and abandon it.” Larry ordered. “If it cannot survive a 50 foot tsunami, it wont survive the pole shift tides. Take a look at the rest of them on the western edge, see if there's any damage. Report to Mona, she has the inside for a while.”

“Roger.” Most had past him into the elevator as he was talking. He sighed and looked behind him at the growing cloud cover before he entered the light elevator to join the rest of the crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Ludwig's and Kylie's kids are born now which introduces major OC's. When making them, I tried to name them after musicians like what Nintendo of America did with the Koopalings, though this rule wasn't followed with Ludwig's oldest son. Here they are, listed in proper birth order:
> 
> Xavier Koopa, 1st son: Not really named after anyone, I just like the name. Has dark blue hair like Ludwig, but is thinner and longer than his fathers, running down his shell which is a dark green.
> 
> Elizabeth Koopa, 1st daughter: Named after Lzzy Hale of Halestorm. Has long green hair braided in multiple places with a light green shell similar to Iggy's.
> 
> Shirley Koopa, 2nd daughter: Named after Shirley Manson of Garbage. She has short, spiked pink hair with a matching shell and a huge smile.
> 
> Tommy Koopa, 2nd son: Named after Tommy Giles, lead singer of Between the Buried and Me. He has a very rare white shell, with fiery red hair reminiscent of Bowser's mane. It is believed his shell may be the product of albinism, but this is not confirmed.
> 
> Samantha Koopa, 3rd daughter: Named after a random musician by that name, because 1) There are many Samantha musicians so pick one to your liking and 2) I wanted that name, so that worked out. She has long light blue hair, with it running down her back on either side of her head but spiked in the middle. She has a bright cyan shell. 
> 
> Amy Koopa, 4th daughter: Named after Amy Lee from Evanescence. She has no hair and a black shell similar to Mortons.
> 
> Trent Koopa, 3rd son: Named after Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. He has spiked yellowish white hair, more white near the roots with a light yellow shell (I know Reznor already got recognition from the named enemies in Mario World, but I couldn't help it. I've called him Trent for a long while).
> 
> Since they are infants, none of them show concrete personalities yet though one can guess how they will turn up after reading about their births, since they do exhibit traits there (Tommy always crawling everywhere, Trent being sickly, etc).


	42. Despite the Shell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luigi attempts his rescue of Daisy, but the outcome is not what he expected it to be. Meanwhile, Roy makes his choice to try and save his children, leaving the kingdom to Kylie. But it may be too little too late as Narec begins his preparations for his line's revenge against the Spirit King that nearly destroyed them outright, a Spirit King now mired by the insane thought complexes of his race which begin to overwhelm his mind...

“So, how do you think this place came to be?” asked one soldier, older and wearing various war patch insignia on his uniform. “Jesus on crack?”

“Naw.” a bearded hillbilly said next to him. “Jesus didn't make the world you know. Only the heavenly father made all things, as weird as they be sometimes. Talking mushrooms and walking bombs? Hell, I would think god turned the dust into cocaine and if he told me I'd believe it!”

“If that happened, we'd have naked hookers everywhere.” said the first. “And we only got one prude bitch locked up right now. I haven't seen any other humans crawl through here other than that lunatic above us.”

“This place ain't civilization.” said the second. “Back on Earth you can settle in the trees, buy a few smokes and live off the land. Here? I don't know half the time what's going on here.”

“Well--” He was interrupted by a fireball hurled at his gut, knocking him over the castle wall. His buddy looked on in disbelief before he too met the same fate, falling to his death below. There was nothing but silence afterwards.

Coming out of a pair of bushes, Luigi quickly dashed to a stone wall overlooking the western courtyard and hugged against it as he tried to reach a wooden door built into one of the western towers. He was lucky so far; those guards seemed to be the only ones on duty during the dinner hour. It meant that he had a chance of finding Daisy without having to fight most of Waluigi's men, or so he hoped. 

Once he was close enough, Luigi dashed to the wooden door and carefully opened it to peek inside. There was a spiral stairwell running upwards to his left and downwards to his right, but there was no one present. He closed the door behind him and tried to remember the castle layout before he heard an eruption of laughter below him. They were definitely downstairs in the basement eating, which would make his mission easier. The less men he had to kill, the better. 

“But you will have to kill them sooner or later.” came a voice echoing in his mind. Luigi looked around but didn't see anyone nearby. “Huh?” he said to himself.

“You can rescue the princess, but you'll have to fight your way back out.” the voice continued. “Why not kill them all now and destroy the pipe back to Earth so you wont have to worry about them anymore?”

“No.” Luigi told himself. He was against killing his own kind. Plus, he had hoped to find Daisy and escape back out without fighting Waluigi or his men. It would be risky to try and kill them all now especially with artillery on their side. 

Above him, the sound of a warp pipe was heard along with the stomping of feet. More men had arrived and Luigi thought twice about his plan. He knew that Earth was going through the pole shift just like the Mushroom World was, and any humans trying to escape it would surely come here and take control of what was left. He could try and rescue Daisy, but that left a countless amount of men to roam the landscape with weapons that few could stand against. This is a world not meant for most humans and Luigi knew it was the right thing to send them back. But could he do it without being killed?

Footsteps were heard coming down the stone steps. Luigi decided to head downstairs and try to find a hiding spot. He saw a warp pipe jutting out from the wall to his right. Remembering where it went (knowing Daisy's Castle well enough), Luigi darted into it and warped into a storage room. He ducked behind a crate in the back corner and waited. Nothing happened after several moments and Luigi assumed they were heading to supper. He looked around the room and found several ? Boxes. One held a fire flower and another held a star. “Just what I needed.” Luigi said to himself, pocketing the powerups. On a few shelves he spotted a number of bob-ombs, small and large. Most of them were too large for him to keep, but a few normal bob-ombs caught his eye. He didn't want to do this, but in case worst came to worst, he wouldn't let them walk the land any longer. He took as many bob-bombs as he could hold.

“You need to kill them all.” came the voice again. “They won't listen to an intruder like you. Why would they bother when their home planet is facing the same thing? They have nothing to go back to.”

“Quiet.” Luigi demanded, trying to think of his strategy. He needed to give them a chance at least before the likely would happen. 

Luigi exited the warp pipe and found himself back in the stairway as before. He walked down to the bottom of the steps, reaching the basement area of the castle. The voices grew louder, and Luigi cautiously navigated his way around a few corners before arriving at a junction. To his left he saw a room full of green pipes and his heart sank immediately. There was no way he would find the right one in time without getting caught. He was going to have to destroy the whole thing. Ahead of him he saw a number of men seated at a table laughing at themselves. He was going to have to sneak past them without being noticed. Luigi took a moment to remember the pipe network of the castle. His escape would depend on where Daisy was, but if Waluigi was like any other villain, then...

There was an eruption of laughter then, and seeing his chance Luigi darted into the pipe room hoping that no one noticed him. Noticing someone in the room, Luigi ran behind a few crates in the left corner hoping he hadn't been seen. Peeking around the corner, he saw a man standing next to a green pipe in the center of the left wall, alongside a number of boxes. He didn't seem to notice him as his back was turned, rummaging through one of the boxes for something. Luigi logically guessed that was the pipe back to Earth, also seeing as he didn't remember that pipe in the original layout of the castle. Looking around, he found the pipe that he wanted for his escape. He inhaled and realized that asking them to leave now was impossible without getting captured. He was going to have to destroy the pipe and run.

Luigi lit a large bob-omb and threw it at the archway from where he came. Moments later the bob-omb exploded sending a rain of brick and mortar to the ground, effectively blocking the entrance way. The man immediately turned around and ran to the pile of rubble, but Luigi was prepared for him. Suddenly appearing from behind the crates, he launched multiple fireballs at the man who was quickly swept off his feet into unconsciousness. Looking around and seeing no other threats, Luigi ran to the pipe back to Earth and lit several bob-ombs before placing them all around the pipe. Luigi ran the other way and moments later, there was a series of explosions and the pipe collapsed in upon itself, moving backwards into the wall before another rain of bricks took its place. 

Luigi heard shouting coming from the other side of the former entranceway and knew he had to act quickly before they could get into the room. Locating the pipe he wanted, he ran and jumped up towards it and successfully warped out of the room. After several moments, he appeared inside of a small waiting room with a save block and a wooden door on the far end. He was not far from Daisy now. After saving his game, Luigi walked to the door before hearing a number of footsteps run past it. Waiting a moment, Luigi slowly opened the door and peeked outside. He saw a number of men just rounding a corner as they descended down a stairway to his right. But to his left were a large pair of unguarded doors flanked by torches: the entrance to the throne room. What luck!

Luigi closed the door behind him and ran up the steps to the double doors. He inhaled as he suddenly doubted himself then. If she wasn't in there...no, she had to be. That's how they all worked. Even if she wasn't, Waluigi had to be defeated. His kind couldn't be let loose into the world if his stay at the Galaxy proved anything. At length, he opened one of the doors.

Inside, he found the throne room to be strangely vacant of furniture except for the throne itself which Luigi's eyes could not move away from. There lying across the armrests was his love Daisy, eyes closed and her skin a pale white. Next to her was the bastard himself, seemingly talking to her.

“He killed Daisy.” said the voice. “You have to kill him and give her the justice she deserves.” Luigi's arms shook in anger but he managed to keep it inside for the time being, despite a million thoughts that ran through his mind.

“Yes, we have enough now.” Waluigi said to Daisy, looking at her. “Yes, and soon those damn turtles down south will all be killed, just like the old days. Doesn't that sound nice? I liked the place too, it was really nice. Except that one turtle.” He paused. “Luigi is downstairs. Bring him up here so I can tell him.” he said without looking. 

Luigi locked the doors behind him and turned back around. “Tell me what?” he asked, and immediately Waluigi cast a gaze of hatred towards the green plumber. “That you were going to invade Mushroom World with a bunch of guys from Earth?” 

“No, that wasn't it. No no.” Waluigi jumped and landed in front of him. “I was going to tell you in a more comfortable place, yes. Comfortable for you, just like my new wife. Isn't she cute?”

“What did you do to her?” Luigi demanded.

“She's more comfortable now.” cackled Waluigi, turning towards her. “Just look at her. She was squirming earlier, didn't like it when I hugged her. Why didn't she like that? I know she likes me. Why does she resist? Heh, doesn't matter now. She can't resist.” Waluigi jumped back towards Daisy, and Luigi started. “Eh! I wouldn't an inch Green Mario, or my spike traps will take care of you.” Luigi looked down and saw that the floor surrounding his small space lined with pressurized plates. The room was effectively bobby-trapped.

“Now Daisy, now you will see why I am your real love.” Waluigi sat her up in her throne, but her head slumped to the side as if she was a corpse.

“She's already dead.” came the voice. “And you know it. He's talking to the dead.”

“No.” Luigi muttered, starting to lose patience.

“You know he killed her, so why do you resist?” it continued. “She deserves justice. Why do you wait?”

“Who are you?” Luigi stammered. But the voice just laughed, seemingly mocking him. Angry, Luigi jumped towards Waluigi until a noise sounded and a thick wall of spikes suddenly descended from above him: he had set off a trap.

“Wahh!” The spikes hit, sending Luigi plummeting to the floor and making him lose his fire abilities. Unfortunately his landing activated one of the pressure plates, and Luigi could see the pillars around the room circling until they revealed lines of Missile Bill launchers. They all launched simultaneously with the bills glowing red; they homed in on Luigi's position, who could do nothing but gulp deeming it too risky to run back towards the doors.

“I told you he would!” Waluigi laughed, looking at the non-responding princess. “That was the best thing to do. Well, for us. Whaha!”

Luigi tried jumping off of the bills as best as he could, trying not to get too high in the air as he maneuvered his way towards Waluigi. But the Missile Bill shells fell onto another plate which triggered a large number of spikes to protrude from the wall. Luigi glanced at them before the entire wall slammed down on top of him, sending him to the ground and reducing him to small Luigi. He crawled back to his starting place across the now pressed plate as Waluigi's laughter filled the room. 

“Hook, line and...whahaha! You see Luigi? She likes me better. She can't even resist me! But you were her suitor, yes. Best to be kind. I'll let you live. But I'm sure those humans won't! Haha! Farewell, Green Mario!” Waluigi scooped up Daisy into his arms and began to make his way out of the room. 

“You lost.” came the voice. “You wern't good enough for her.”

“No...” Luigi muttered. 

“There's no way you can beat him on your own.” said the voice. A figure appeared in Luigi's mind, bearing his silhouette. “But I can help you.”

“No!” Luigi cried, prompting Waluigi to snicker.

“If you want her, you have no choice.” the silhouette said, smiling at him. 

“No!!!” Luigi screamed and suddenly his body began to transform.

“You lost...wha?” Waluigi looked back and did not expect to find Luigi surrounded by a cloud of green. Deciding he didn't want to stick around, Waluigi hastened his pace towards the door. But he never reached it as a beam of electric magic shot out of the cloud and hit him, electrifying Waluigi in place along with Daisy in tow. He fell to the ground like a statue, too paralyzed to move. 

“This battle is just starting, you little pretender.”

Slowly, Waluigi got up to face his antithesis...but it wasn't the Luigi he expected. “Eh? What's this little trick? You think that will outsmart me?”

“Luigi? I am Mr. L!” With a grin, Mr. L purposefully hopped on the plate next to him sending the same spike wall towards the ground, but Mr. L jumped in the air then and landed on the top edge before the ceiling spikes could make contact. Running across, he made a long jump over the remaining pressure plates and landed right in front of Waluigi who looked rather shocked. “I am here to take back what's mine. Only someone as good as me is deserving of Daisy, not someone who uses cheap tricks! Now you could stand aside and let me take her which would be easy for the both of us--”

Waluigi suddenly pulled out a gun and fired at Mr. L, but thanks to his new found abilities dodged them all via bullet time. Jumping up, he kicked Waluigi in the face before punching his gut, sending him withering to the ground in pain. With his famous home run kick, Mr. L punted the plumber wannabe towards the center of the room where he landed on several pressurized plates at once.

“What is this?” Mr. L spotted a lever behind the throne.

“Wahh!” Waluigi ran back and forth trying to dodge everything. “Don't touch that!”

Of course, Mr. L pulled the lever instead. The entire floor suddenly opened up inwards, swallowing Waluigi into a black pit before the floor closed up again just as fast. Mr, L laughed to himself. That was much easier than he thought. Now it was time to claim his prize and make a getaway.

“He didn't stand a chance against me!” Mr. L exclaimed, turning towards Daisy. “Daisy?” He walked over to her and saw that she was breathing, “It looks like he tried to have his way with you. But do not worry! I will get us out of this place and cure you. Just hang on! This will be a bumpy ride.” Picking her up off the ground, he then dashed towards the exit that Waluigi would have taken. The archway led to a large tower with a spiral staircase and a few windows overlooking the now darkened courtyard. Deciding against his original idea, Mr. L made a large jump across the stairwell and crashed through one of the windows before taking the long plunge towards the ground. Shouts went up around him followed by a splattering of bullets, all of which missed their target. It didn't help that the sun had already gone down.

Landing on the ground, Mr. L sprinted towards the outer wall, successfully dodging bullets headed his way. With a large jump, he out performed his good side and reached the top of the wall with ease before hoping down to the other side. Cuss words flew through the air as Mr. L quickly made way for the forest outside the complex, the sounds of gun fire dying out behind him.

“L-ater!” he called back, now out of range from most of their weaponry. Ahead of him, the land suddenly slipped and slid towards his right, forcing Mr. L to run to the left as the land seemed to buckle down a slope next to him, landing around 50 feet below him. That's right, the pole shift was imminent. That meant hiding in the mountains was not a good idea in this area if landslides are apparent. 

“Luigi?” Daisy stirred from darkness. “You look funny.”

“Huh?” Mr. L looked down. Daisy was awake and looking at him, but she appeared exhausted. “Don't worry Daisy, I'll find a good hiding spot so they won't find us.”

“Where are we going?” she asked, but the mysterious Mr. L didn't answer as he continued to run through the forest at superhuman speeds. Eventually, the duo crossed into a mountain range where Mr. L found a large grassy pit near one of the slopes. Laying Daisy down, he looked around him and wondered where they would set out next.

“You feeling okay, Luigi?” Daisy asked, trying to get up.

“Hm?” There was that name again. Who was Luigi? “Just plotting our next course...” Mr. L managed to say as he looked around him. He finally caught sight of his tool belt that was strapped across his waist that he had seemingly ignored until now. That wasn't his.

“Let me out!” came a voice. He knew that voice.

“Quiet you.” Mr. L muttered under his breath. “You're the weak one.”

“You're the one who got hypnotized by Nastasia.” the voice claimed. Mr. L clutched his head at the sound of that name. “You're me.”

“Quiet!” 

“Luigi...” Daisy started, but Mr. L quickly turned toward her. “I need...to find food.” he managed to say. “I'll...return...L-ater...” With that, he jumped out of the hole and quickly sprinted down the slope.

“Wait!” Daisy sighed. “What's gotten into him?” Was he corrupted by Waluigi? The thought crossed her mind, but Waluigi wasn't that skilled with magic. She then remembered that one time years ago when Luigi went missing for several months. Rumor was that he had become a villain, but Mario refused to tell her what had happened. Did he relapse?

That's all Daisy could assume as she wondered what to do with her seemingly mentally disturbed partner.

* * *

“It's all you now.” came Roy's voice. “Gotta go back to da Old Kingdom.”

“What? Dude, you know I can't do this by myself!” Kylie complained telepathically, nursing Amy with a bottle. “Plus my kids. I'm working overtime with no compensation!”

“They took Diadora and the eggs.” came his response.

“Are you serious?” Kylie thought for a moment. “...wow.”

“Wendy took them. She's a puppet of Narec, new head of those Marthos fucks. They'll ruin their childhood, I know it. Can't allow that. Have to go get them and finish what I started...”

Kylie frowned. It was too risky to simply let them go in their hands, but at the same time Roy was needed right here, right now making sure everyone was hunkering down for the shift. Plus, considering the eggs' location they would likely not survive what was to come for that area.

“I really do need your help with this load, but leaving them there like that...this sucks!” she exclaimed. 

“Sorry.” said Roy in a rare apology. “My fault. Should've killed her. Need to go back and finish the job. And I won't have my work destroyed like that. They are the future. My responsibility. I must go.”

“No, I'm sorry for sounding selfish.” Kylie said. “Go, just go. I'll get Morton to help. Go.” There was no answer. Kylie had a gut feeling that if she wasn't inside the floating fortress and Ludwig was still king, then they would've shared the same fate as Roy. 

She looked over at Ludwig, who was holding Tommy (to prevent him from escaping) while lecturing the others who sat in the crib. They had grown quickly and were already sitting down by themselves as they listened to their father teach them the alphabet and various words in their language. In a way, she still wished that Ludwig was still king because of how much of a power vacuum the position was. He was able to hold it, but couldn't stop its corruption over him due to internal issues. Roy seemed to handle it well but he was busy much of the time, and now he needed to go back to the Old Kingdom to rescue his fiance and kids. If he wasn't present as king, then in a way it was like having no king at all. Once word got out about his departure, Kylie feared someone might try to sway things their way. Because of that, she knew she needed to assert herself now and guard against that vacuum that nearly destroyed her husband.

“Mama!” she turned and found Xavier looking at her.

“Wonderful effort.” said Ludwig. “An exemplary beginning for your lingual faculties.”

“Well hello Xavier!” Kylie got up and walked over to him.

“Mama.” Xavier pointed to her briefly before looking at his dad.

“Correct, that is mother, affectionately known as 'Mama'.” stated Ludwig.

“Is this something I get to look forward to when I get home?” asked Kylie.

“Indubitably.” said Ludwig. “Their education shall be undertaken by yours truly, at least for the time being.”

Kylie put Amy back into the crib. “Well I appreciate the effort. I'm so busy now that I hardly have time to take care of them.”

“Upon the realization that my previous power had tainted my inner being, I have decided to no longer live a life of obtaining power.” explained Ludwig. “But rather, the expression long repressed in such environments shall be given full attention instead, including one of my greatest loves in life, music.”

“So you'll never become a king again, huh?” Kylie asked.

“As long as the potential for my core self to become corrupted remains, I will not seek the halls of power any longer.” said Ludwig. “I have lived my life decadently, upon a level believed to be deserving for an individual such as I. But in the due process I have also restrained and ignored my better characteristics which I believe will become more helpful now as it seems the people care less about hierarchy and more about their everyday lives. Perhaps performing music for them would be of greater benefit to them than a ruler with an ego unchecked and a lifestyle unjudged. I would not rule again unless I were forced to do so, and even then with utmost restraint.”

“Wow, talk about contrast. When I first met you, I remember you talking about what you'd do differently.” Kylie remarked. 

“Those days are in the past and no longer apply to the times.” said Ludwig, putting Tommy down. “The world has begun to change, with the old regime now obsolete in favor of selflessness, a fact that I should not have glossed over so superficially, though being drunk with egotistical power what more can I say? It is the nature of Koopa. It is more likely now to see a structure resembling a democracy with a board of directors acting as head. It is possible that following the pole shift the roles of the kings and queens will become ceremonial and act only to further strengthen the original bond set into place by Koopa himself.”

“That would be a lot better than what we have now.” said Kylie. “But looking at how crazy people are, I wouldn't even think about starting something new.” She paused. “I know you don't like him, but I was told that Roy's kids were kidnapped along with Diadora.”

“Tragic news regardless of the individual.” said Ludwig. “Who is the perpetrator?”

“It's your sister Wendy and the new leader of the UmNaru, Narec.” said Kylie. “Roy said he's going to finish the job, which I assume means kill her.”

Ludwig shook his head. “There is no escaping it, is there? She was an issue we all wished to avoid, but now it seems Roy has no choice. Despite their origins, I do hope they are speedily recovered.” 

“I'm sorry.” said Kylie.

“It is fate.” said Ludwig. “It is what it is.” He paused. “In any event, I shall try to accommodate you to the surface to begin the orchestration of the future ensemble for the colony.”

“That would be awesome.” Kylie said. “I was looking for a few people start something up. I guess I'll let you know when.”

“Very well.” With Kylie leaving the room, Ludwig turned back to his kids who had begun playing with each other during their spare time. “Now, where were we?”

* * *

The Old Kingdom continued to be blasted with howling winds from the south as the remaining people there holed themselves up inside their increasingly dilapidated homes. The sea encroached the shores and brought large waves inland, over-sweeping the old harbor of Koopa city until it went entirely under the waves. Rotting corpses in the streets were swept out to sea with the rest of the debris, their final resting place chosen for them. Hillsides collapsed, bringing several houses down along with them and burying what lay below. To Narec Morello, it was all part of the process. Comfortable inside King John's Castle, he watched from a barred window the devastation that was wrought below, caring not for the people's lives that lay in danger of the onslaught. After all, the previous line and all their works must be purged before the next one could emerge. If any cared to look towards his direction, they would not know what they saw, save a hooded figure in a black robe that concealed what the God's Wrath spell had done to his skin.

“So then, when do you think will be the best time to let them know?” asked Wendy O. Koopa, getting up from the aged throne behind him. She did not look nearly as bad as her rescuer, though her left arm was noticeably crusted up during the same assault.

“Not until the shift ends and the dust is settled.” replied Narec, not even looking at her.

“But those folks out there are getting anxious.” said Wendy.

“Let them.” said Narec, not caring for Wendy's impatience. “It is to be expected, along with Roy's inevitable return. Soon we will all be back together and can put this needless war behind us. Roy is already king, so half our work is done for us. The shift will take care of the rest. Kylie's Castle will fall and then she'll be an easy target. Why marry a queen with no experience in magic? His choice was poor and easily replaceable. Soon, you will become the queen of the Koopa's and rule your people.”

In a square metal cage to the side of the throne room was Diadora Koopa, who watched the two converse in silence. Angry and distraught, she needed to find a way to escape, but how? Her eggs had already been laid, and they now sat upon a hearth in the middle of the throne room across from her cell. She couldn't carry them all at once and would need help if she dared tried to sneak out.

“But why do you have to use her kids?” Wendy asked, looking at Diadora. “They have mixed blood.”

“Because they are the future.” Diadora countered.

“They will be.” said Narec.

“Huh?” Diadora did not expect that answer. “What will you do to them?”

Narec turned towards Diadora. “They are the future of the race.” he said. “Unlike your father, all five will become the future masters of the family. Unlike your father, they will grow and learn of our ways and understand the need for order for such animals like the Koopa race, Fitting for a species destined for greatness. You have done your part, Diadora. Our council thanks you for it as we now stand a chance against the one who has ruined us.”

“Roy will be coming for them.” Diadora countered.

“Inevitable in any case.” said Narec. “Ad when he arrives, he will find his entire family waiting for him.” He moved towards the eggs.

“Don't you dare touch them!” Diadora cried out.

“We cannot afford to have the elements silence the future, now can we? How about we accelerate the process?” 

“No! They have the right to live as they wish!” she cried.

“Oh, they will.” Using his wand, he cast a spell on the entire batch of eggs which suddenly started to jitter all the eggs in place. After a few moments the eggs cracked simultaneously and the infant within were seen surrounded by a yellow light that continued to accelerate their growth.

“Stop it!!!” Diadora banged on the bars in desperation, tears forming in her eyes. Wendy watched her struggle with amusement as she guessed Narec's intent. The children grew to young adolescents before the magic spell ceased. They looked around the room with confused faces.

“You just stole a part of their childhood!” Diadora screamed. 

“A necessary sacrifice.” Narec muttered. 

“They are so beautiful.” Wendy exclaimed, unable to hide her admiration. “Roy had better genes than I thought. But what of their ages? They all hatched at the same time!”

“They are all of the same age.” said Narec. “Now, their names shall be--”

“They're my kids! I'll name them, even if you call them something else...they are my kids.” Diadora demanded, trying not to break down.

Narec merely sighed. “Very well, you have the right as descendant of Marthos.” He pointed at one of the girls who had thin spiky purple hair and a yellow shell. Narec paused, waiting for an answer.

“Kristin Koopa.” Diadora said, shaking from the emotional stress. Narec calmly walked to the next child, another female but bald with a gray shell and pointed at her.

“Stevie.” she said quietly, now anticipating what would happen once this was over with. Narec pointed to the next child, a bald boy with a red shell. 

“Vincent.” Diadora replied. He pointed to the next, another girl with long yellow hair and a light blue shell.

“Beth...” Narec finally pointed at the last child, a boy with orange hair that seemed to spike in two directions, along with a matching shell.

“Duke. Now please, don't hurt them.” she pleaded.

“They will not be tortured.” Narec assured. “They will simply undergo the traditional ceremonies acquainted with the members of the Marthos branch. Once learning how to speak, they shall be educated to our history once learning how to speak. Do not worry, your children will serve as cherished vessels for the greater good. Let us be off then.” With a snap of his finger, five wispy shapes appeared and materialized into dark hominid forms. Each picked up one of the children without instruction, and proceeded out of the room down a dark hallway. “When we are finished removing their hair and inducting them into our circle, they will soon be ready to meet Roy when he arrives.” Narec said, grinning.

“I said they have the right to choose!” Diadora growled.

“You may also choose your fate, though I imagine the alternative to be less entertaining.”

Diadora reached out through the bars and tried to grab onto Narec but he instead back away and touched his wand. Almost instantly, Diadora's vision became blurry and she swooned before darkness overtook her. 

“Bring her to the initiation ceremony.” said Narec, with Wendy simply nodding. With that he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

* * *

When Diadora came to, she was standing in the back of a large rustic room, the black rock warped and molded over time from deeds long past. But she could not move her body and instead felt trapped inside herself, some other force controlling her actions. She looked to her left and saw one of the wisps carrying off one of her children, Stevie. Much to her horror she saw an engraving on the child's right palm, a fresh wound still bleeding forth onto her arm.

“STOP IT!!” she cried, but no words came from her mouth. She had been hypnotized into the sacred ritual for the newborn against her will. Her children were being inducted into the Line of Marthos, a sacred ritual that set them apart from the rest of the family. Stevie was placed with her other siblings who stood at attention like zombies with all their hair shaved off; were they hypnotized too? This was a living nightmare. Diadora wanted to do something, anything to stop this living version of hell but her body would not move.

“Find the one named Vincent.” a voice called out. He was the only child missing, but it didn't take long before he was found hiding behind the curtain. A wisp took him up and brought him before an altar in front of Diadora that lay upon a raised platform. There, Narec produced a knife crafted in gold and jewels.

“Nalaan est brigatum aran da orum.” he chanted, “Brigath aran est cleruen mari.” With that, he grabbed Vincent's right hand forced open his hand. Diadora tried to look away but she was forced to watch as the enchanted blade cut into his palm the ancient symbol of the Line of Marthos. Blood ran down his arm and a wisp quickly wrapped a towel around it. The symbol flickered for a moment before disappearing altogether. The ritual over, the wisp then brought the child to Diadora, who in her shock did not know what she would do. But as the wisp stopped, she suddenly found control of her limbs again.

“Hi mommy.” said a voice in her mind. How did he know how to speak so early? She struggled to keep composure and accepted Vincent into her arms. Every part of her wanted to run out of there, but she knew she would be killed and the other children tortured if she tried. But if she didn't do something, then her kids would grow up and be no better than any other descendant of Marthos.

“Alorum rein maron.” she began the prayer as she had done four times before, but in the process she slipped a ring from her finger and into Vincent's shell. “Mirus an. Mirun ka aresh. Jaren arai.” She reluctantly gave Vincent back to the wisp and watched as he was placed in the middle of the other children at the left of the room. “Be strong honey.” Diadora thought, hoping he could hear her. “Rely on yourself.” Miraculously, Vincent seemed to make a short nod as he mimicked the movements of his siblings. Soon after, Diadora felt the darkness over-sweep her again until she lost all her vision.

Narec walked down from the altar and stood in front of the children, looking over each of them carefully. Diadora walked over to join him, looking over her children with a blank look. Seemingly satisfied, Narec placed a hand over his heart. “For the will of Koopa!”

The other children mimicked his movements. “For the will of Koopa!” they all struggled to say, some better than others. Vincent briefly looked at his mother and noticed that her eyes were now blank, not full of sorrow like they were before. What was going on? Why couldn't his other siblings notice what was what happening? Filled with more questions than answers, he looked forward again watching Narec looking upwards, chanting some prayer. “Now, let us teach you the art of speech and the power of manifesting your world in the name of Koopa.” Narec walked out of the chamber and his siblings followed rank and file, and Vincent mimicked their movements as best he could. He was going to have to figure things out on his own.

* * *

Across vast stretches of the world, flooding ravaged numerous coastlines drowning tens of thousands of people within hours. Earthquakes wobbled skyscrapers that remained standing in the cities that still tried to function normally, terrifying those around them. Even more people starved, finding their usual food shipments running dry in their comfortable city lives. After moments of hesitation, a suicidal mother killed her infant child with her bare hands before stabbing her head with a kitchen knife. A group inside a city apartment cut open a fresh corpse for their daily meal, an inexpensive solution to the ongoing food problem.

“Tasty...” said Iggy, drawing their figures on the wall with a piece of charcoal. A squadron of Magikoopa's, formally serving Ludwig Von Koopa before their rebellion saluted their commander in earnest. Then, upon command they each branded a wand and pointed it at their temples. “For the glory of Koopa, we shall watch and pray for you in heaven.” they all said in unison. “Farewell, O glorious!” Blasts of light erupted through the ranks, and soon the bodies of 1,300 Magikoopa's littered the ground.

Iggy laughed hysterically at the sight. “Brothers of heaven! Please, please see what you did wrong! You were just before the finale, the culmination! Watch what happens, if you can and see...” he sighed, frantically drawing their figures on the wall. He doubted most people could see the big picture. Watching hundreds to thousands of people dying every day did a number to Iggy's mind, being forced to see the minds of his race due to his position as Spirit King. He could ignore them if he wanted, but only for a small time. Death has a way of announcing itself to other people: the loss of emotion from the body's neural shutdown, the disconnection of the telepathic gateways, the sudden rise of panic and delusion that's blind to reason, all of these things could be ignored by the fool who knows nothing of the world and its people, but not Iggy Koopa. He had to see it all.

That made him wonder how much others could see of him. He had kept a good appearance to his brothers and to Penny, but it was easy to put on a mask to hide something. The struggle was keeping it on as a volcano of anger and frustration threatened to billow forth ruining all his progress. The monarchs could see his conscious mind if they wished to, but they hadn't done that lately. No brainer as to why.

“How...many more days.” Iggy heard himself say. Yes yes, this was the insanity phase and he usually forgot he was insane. Down here it was easy to forget such things. The body was barely able to tolerate the bullshit, but this was the only way to experience this, to learn from this. He had to keep it going. Iggy never forgot losing his mind in the past, knew that history. He told himself he never would again.

But the thought made him burst out laughing. “Hehe...how much do you know?” He looked upon his charcoal mural which lined and entire wall inside one of the upper rooms of Erzembar. He sighed again. This was all negative. Where was the counter balance? Not in the 90% it seemed, though some tried to rationalize their situation while others played the lying game so common amongst his race. Except he saw all those too.

Iggy chuckled again. This was all so ridiculous. He could barely do his job as Spirit King in this state. If he wasn't being bombarded by questions from incarnate and discarnate spirits and thoughts of death and suicide constantly then he knew he could be helping his siblings a lot more than now. Iggy knew about Narec for quite some time. He could probably fight him and defeat him, but not in this state. Not with millions of voices talking to him, not with millions of dreadful realities filling his vision,

Iggy saw Penny warp into their old bedroom and sit down. Her mind bothered him then, striking a chord and so teleported into his old room. He found her there sitting on the bed with her back to him. The bright sun however distracted him, filtering through the narrow windows like bright stage lights. He looked at his watch, which read 10:05 PM. He did a double take. “Why is the sun up?” he asked, tilting his head as he looked at Penny.

“Because you're crazy.” she replied.

Iggy laughed. “I am crazy, yes I am. But not crazy enough to stop the planet from rotating. The last weeks must have started...then.”

Penny said nothing.

“That is a problem...of course it happens at the last second.” Iggy muttered.

“I worked so hard on this.” Penny said. “I designed all those hydroponic gardens in the basement levels. Now they're all flooded. Those walls weren't supposed to crack, Iggy.”

“Don't look at me.” said Iggy. “I don't run the site.”

Penny rolled her eyes and sighed.

“It was probably that snow we got a few days ago.” said Iggy. “And this place has been rumbling lately. The Kermillion fault is probably opening up. The aquifer didn't handle the run off well...but it was 6 inches, so it wouldn't anyway. Well, I saved some of that harvest outside and transplanted them into Marthos so we won't totally starve. Is the temple a total loss or can some thing be salvaged?”

“...the underground levels are all flooded except the first two.” said Penny. “All the food is gone. Everyone is flipping out. I don't know what to tell them...rations? That won't last forever.”

“Move them into Marthos.” said Iggy. “We'll figure out how the food will work from there.”

“I guess I don't have a choice.”

“I would salvage whatever you can, and ask everyone to help you with the move.” Iggy suggested. “We haven't explored the basement of that place yet, so there may still be a few surprises left over.”

“I don't know how you can say that after what you're going through.” Penny said. “I don't think someone is qualified to say that when they act that crazy.”

“Penny, let it go.” Iggy warned. “Or you won't survive.”

“I probably won't survive at this point.” Penny muttered.

“All because your shelter took a direct hit.” Iggy countered. “As we all know, the world revolves around you.”

Penny said nothing. “Come on, there's one more shelter to the north.” Iggy continued. “Like I said, I already brought what was left of the garden in there and we're growing off of that. Plus, there's the seeds Erzembar refuses to let go of, but I think I'll force it from him.”

“I just wanted to escape the voices in my head.” said Penny, curling into a ball. “The ones that die. Now I can't run from them anymore.”

“I've been naked against them since the beginning.” said Iggy.

“How the hell do you do that?” asked Penny.

“By letting go.” Iggy answered. “Don't hold onto anything or anyone for long.”

“Doesn't stop you from going crazy though, does it?” Penny countered.

“There's too many of them for our little minds to handle.” said Iggy. “You gotta have...hehe...some kind of outlet. They just clutter up otherwise then you snap and its all over.”

“I don't know what to think anymore.” Penny buried her head. “What do I do?”

“Don't think. Feel.” Nothing happened for a while. Iggy looked out the window again with a million things on his mind. “Alright?” he asked.

Penny looked up but said nothing.

“The mind is the instrument of the heart, not its controller.” Iggy explained. “Or there's that old saying: the mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. No matter what the mind says, the heart creates your reality. The mind merely directs it. As the world continues to fall apart the mind will not stand to see what it sees.”

“Denial.” said Penny. “I think that's the issue. This is happening.”

“Whether your mind likes it or not, yes.” said Iggy. 

There was a pause, then Penny got up and walked over to Iggy and simply looked at him. They didn't say anything as a flurry of thoughts danced between their subconscious minds, but eventually Penny couldn't take it anymore and grabbed hold of him.

“I think we need to stick to each other more often.” Iggy commented. “My insanity seems to quiet down a little bit when I'm around you.”

“We've been away too long.” said Penny. “I forget obvious things sometimes.”

“We all do. Let's just make it a habit to work together then by ourselves, if that's alright with you. I know there's the urge in the other direction, but we have to ignore it because we deserve better than being alone and miserable. Yeah, it's kinda hard to believe but you deserve better. The pole shift makes anyone miserable if you let it, but it's the ones that keep their heads and hearts held high that shine.”

“You would've been a great motivational speaker.” Penny said.

“There's something I should do.” he said to himself.

“Thank you Iggy.” Penny smiled. “One reason why I love you.” She gave him a quick kiss.

“See? Love always wins.” grinned Iggy. “Now, ready to go out there and fix this mess?”

“If you're with me, I am.” said Penny.

Iggy started, then remembered something. “Will you think about it now?” he asked.

“I'll think about it.” responded Penny. “But it doesn't mean I will.”

“If we have food that is.” Iggy said.

“Yeah. There's that. But I know its important for you, so I'll think about it.” They both looked outside in thought, and each had their eyes glued to The Great Destroyer which hung in the sky next to the sun. It was now larger than the moon, watching over all below as it continued to wrack the planet with deluge and destruction. An Earth tremor snapped the pair back to reality and they teleported out of Erzembar to begin the evacuation of the Temple of Inauro.


	43. And the Earth Stood Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earth halts in her orbit, prompting the survival shelters to go into overdrive. Lemmy meets with his committee to discuss preparations while Genlic turns into a robust workhouse as Larry oversees questions posed by various groups. Iggy attempts to reconstruct the location and focus of his and Penny's originally planned shelters, now deemed unusable all while trying to escape the effects of insanity. Meanwhile, Narec continues to train Roy's kidnapped children in the ways of the UmNaru by having them beat each other in battles, but the influence of white magic begins to cut into his art.

Lemmy walked out onto his ice encrusted balcony, enjoying an orange juice for the morning with the sun shining above the western horizon. As was reported the night before, the sun had stopped moving in the sky and remained approximately in its 5:30 PM position, low on the western horizon to his right. From what Lemmy learned, the Earth likely stopped in its orbit, which meant that the last weeks were now upon them. To the sun's right was the Great Destroyer, now looming large in the sky and surrounded by a reddish dust cloud. Behind it trailed a line of dust and debris that slowly swayed back and forth. Lemmy gulped the rest of his juice down, grateful that he still had some to drink. Still, it was very odd to wake up to what would normally be supper time. To his direct south were the Koopa Crags, now shrouded in volcanic gloom as multiple volcanoes were erupting at once. Travel to and from the land was now nearly impossible save by boat and yet he had heard from Kylie that Roy's family was abducted and being held at John's Castle there. It seemed Wendy had escaped thanks to the head of the line of Marthos, Narec Morello Koopa. How Roy was going to rescue them and get out alive was beyond Lemmy. 

Clicks and clangs were heard a floor below him. Breakfast had just finished and the chefs were cleaning up downstairs before they would begin their day with everyone else. Lemmy reminisced that while he never wanted to be a king, he still ran a virtual mini kingdom inside his halls now, just without the corrupt politics that surrounded his old life. Granted, it was more primitive than the automated processes of the Old Kingdom, but their standard of living didn't hurt nearly as much as he thought it would have. Sure, it was lowered which was inevitable, but there were many skilled folk that filled in the gaps. Weavers, gardeners, technicians, writers, candle makers, even soap makers. These skills weren't just professions in a job. In this kind of environment, you knew everyone and everyone knew you. It was different from the shifting faces that he grew up with or the masks he was forced to wear in public. Here, it was more casual, more laid back and more real. You didn't have to worry about enemies backstabbing you or do things you didn't like...for the most part.

The shaking ground snapped Lemmy out of his thoughts, reminding him that he needed to stay focused. The Earth had been rattling non stop over the past several days and he feared that the pole shift was soon imminent. 

“Lemmy, you feel that?” echoed his radio. He had accepted a shipment of radio's from Larry a few weeks back along with a few long range antenna's thanks to their group of magic users and their teleportation abilities.

“Yeah, it's been doing this for a while.” Lemmy called back, looking into the snowy distance towards the northern Crags of the Old Kingdom. “It's kind of like the drum roll into the end, I guess.”

“Well, we're bringing up some of the crops from the basement in case it starts to crack.” the voice said. 

“Into the spare rooms? That's fine.” said Lemmy. He wondered how bad the flooding was in the ground below him, inside the tomb that he explored with Iggy a few days ago.

On the horizon, Lemmy suddenly saw three shapes appear, hovering in the sky with each equidistant from each other. They did nothing, but Lemmy felt a bad feeling grow inside of his gut. He slowly reached for his radio while trying to formulate his words, but the Earth rumbled again before he could say anything. Small cracks began to appear on the ice far below, a danger that reminded Lemmy of his planned end game as he struggled to stay up. The earthquake soon ceased, and Lemmy became motivated to try and rally together support for these last critical days. 

“Hey guys, it's Lemmy.” he transmitted with his radio. “I know you finished breakfast, but would the response committee mind holding back in the briefing room? We need to talk about what's happening outside.”

“Roger that boss.” came Toadette's response. With that, Lemmy skipped off the balcony and made his way towards the briefing room. A small group of people were conversing to each other before one of them noticed the Koopaling walk in.

“What's up guys?” Lemmy asked.

“Did you see those UFO's outside?” asked a blue Pianta with a Hawaiian shirt.

“Yeah.” Lemmy simply stated.

“What do you think man? Are they trying to say something?” asked the Pianta.

“There's a lot of theories.” Lemmy shrugged. “I like the telepathy one, where they talk with your mind but you don't know what's going on. It makes sense with how people work.”

“I like that one too.” said Toadette. “I get a lot of dreams about aliens, actually.”

“Hmm...that's strange. I have not detected any form of abnormal wave activity in the vicinity.” E. Gadd commented. “Perhaps I am using the wrong range. Thank you for inspiring my next project, hoho!”

“Unfortunately that's what I called you guys here for.” said Lemmy. “It's the sun. If you haven't seen it yet, it's still where it was last night, around 5 or 5:30. And you know what that means.”

“Yes lad, it means the Earth has stopped rotating on her axis.” said E. Gadd. “I theorize that the last days are upon us before the pole shift itself strikes.” There was some quiet after his statement.

“So what happens until then?” Toadette asked the eccentric scientist. 

“Hoho! Well, the Destroyer has gripped the Kong Rift underneath the Koopahari Ocean.” explained E. Gadd. “It is why rotation has halted. The rest of the crust wants to escape the magnetic interlock however, so many more earthquakes will happen and more volcanoes will erupt. Tsunami's will often occur without warning. Temperature extremes will continue as well, but will flip flop sooner. Just look at us! We are in the lower 40's inside the arctic circle and everything is melting. Weather extremes will continue along with all those phenomena that have to do with the earth wobble. Meteors will pick up tremendously. But all of this is for no more than a week.” That was depressing news, for none of them needed to be told how many lives would be lost from the lack of preparation or from misfortune.

“Has the flooding gotten worse underground?” Lemmy asked.

“Not too much, but it's been a steady rise.” said one Koopa Troopa. “The lowest level might be threatened soon. We've been thinking about moving the crops there a floor higher but we need approval before that happens.”

“Well, you got it now!” said Lemmy.

“Awesome. Because there's a ton of room along the outer walls, so we can just move them there if we have to.” the Koopa Troopa explained.

“You're still storing that above ground, right?” Lemmy asked.

“Yeah, it's all on the third floor.” the Koopa Troopa stated.

“Okay, as along as the yield is good then we're cruisin'.” said Lemmy. “Are there any more people migrating here?”

“Yeah, it's been pretty steady.” said Toadette. “It's not a lot, but still. We're starting to run out of room.” 

“Okay, the ham's need to broadcast what's going on right now.” said Lemmy. “Even if its not a direct call. Anyone with a wire or antenna should hear this. Tell them the sun stopped and the pole shift will happen in a few days, and also tell them to stay put and not come here! The ice is cracking now so they couldn't live outside if I let them...which I wont.” 

“What about the other colonies.” asked the blue Pianta.

“You guys can talk to them if you want.” said Lemmy. “I'm going to talk with Larry directly and see how crazy it is over there, then see how the others are doing.”

* * *

The interior of Genlic was a crazy madhouse, despite order underlying the chaos. A perpetual night had fallen over the fortress, and the moon had been moving erratically for the past 14 hours. Genlic's dining room was a mess of people coming and going, rapid talking and a handful of arguments. Papers lay scattered across the long dining room table, describing irrigation methods, emergency procedures, radiowave propagation and its relation to the ionosphere, how to construct houseboats and endless others alongside files and photographs. Kooper handled the brunt of the informational assault along with his group of dedicated volunteers who worked to keep things moving. Any major issues or changes of procedure were then handed to Mona or Larry Koopa, which was still a sizable amount as their work areas showed. The Blood King checked his watch: 11:49 AM. It was time for lunch and he already wanted some wine. Who knows if he'd be able to drink it again? He needed to savor each and every moment now, even the paperwork.

“Hi King Larry.” said a Goomba along with a group of companions behind him. “We were told by Kooper to come talk to you about this.”

“And that is...?”

“We were thinking about putting together a fishery group for the aftermath.” the Goomba explained. “We think that the food here needs some kind of backup and fishing fits that description. We also want to construct ships designed for navigating the new world when everything settles down outside. The problem is that we don't know how much land will be left after the shift is complete.”

“What do you mean?” Larry asked.

“We understand that there will be a sea level rise after the shift.” said the Goomba. “It's roughly 675 feet according to the presentation we got during our orientation a long while ago. However, to build boats we need land. From what we know, many parts of Northern Amador are going to be flooded permanently, all the way down to what was Diamond City. Genlic is on a rocky hilltop though and is expected to be above sea level at the end, but the question is how much land will be left?”

“There should be enough land. If you're worried about floodwaters, you could build a retaining wall or a platform above ground and make your ships there.” suggested Larry.

“And if that doesn't work?” the Goomba asked.

“It would as long as there's something to build with.” responded Larry. “There should be enough space outside Genlic to build houseboats or just something to sail with.”

“But that area is going to flood, isn't it?” asked the Goomba, unable to let go of his fears.

“Not all of it.” said Larry. “The whole area surrounding Genlic should be fine as it's well above 675 feet. The flooding is a slow rise, not a cataclysmic wave like the pole shift will be.”

“We can only build them after the shift.” said another Goomba. “Otherwise we'd lose them. So I guess for now we'll draw up our final plans then let you know what we have in about 36 hours.”

“No more than.” said Larry. “The shift is sometime later this week.” The group walked off and Larry took a swig of water as the next group arrived. 

“Hi Larry.” greeted a Troopa with glasses. “I'm Chris. So we've been broadcasting what's been happening here for the past 8.5 hours and we've been getting calls from Roy's kingdom and Lemmy's shelter as well.”

“How are they?” Larry asked.

“Oh, fine. They seemed to have made similar observations to our own.” the Troopa said. “But we've been having trouble maintaining the calls without losing the signal. Propagation is a problem because we do not have the sun to charge the ionosphere like most of our friends do, so we cannot hear their higher frequency calls and they have trouble with our lower frequency calls as the longer wave is drowned out. We did find a compromise between 6 and 7 megahertz which more or less works without major interference, though roaming signals remains a problem. It greatly helps to have a repeater set atop Ludwig's Castle. That leads to our little problem. We have repeaters set up on Genlic's roof at the moment, but we cannot leave them there during the pole shift, otherwise they would be blown away by the projected hurricane force winds. So the question is, when do we take them down? And after the shift happens, when do we put them back up?”

“Rotation stoppage is expected to last about 3 days.” said Larry, pulling out a graphed time line of the shift. “So 48 hours before the last, let the other shelters know that you'll be taking down the antennas 24 hours before the shift itself. That way they wont assume the worst. Also tell them when you plan on reinstalling them post shift and set a frequency range to listen for.”

“We also have the problem of continental movement.” said a pale, skinny Koopa. “That's going to shift the propagation paths into new areas we're not familiar with.” 

“Every colony should have a copy of what the new world will look like.” said Larry. “It's not exact of course but it should give you an idea.”

“Yeah, we can use that map and plot out range trajectories with the other shelters.” Chris said to the pale one. “I guess that sums up our situation at the moment. If we need supplies, then we can contact electrical and see if they can rig us something.”

“Let me know when you take the antenna's down.” said Larry.

“We will. Thank you for your time.” With that, the group left and Larry finished his water. A servant took the glass soon after, part of the wait staff of volunteers for the managers of Genlic currently in the room. It seemed his next group was delayed with Kooper, so Larry laid back and cleared his mind for a moment. Mona seemed to be in some dispute with the weaver group about a lack of supply. Bombette was dealing with the geologist group and was probably the best person for that job.

The Blood Wand let out a pulsating light, indicating that someone was trying to contact him. Taking out the wand, a full color depiction of Lemmy's mug materialized over the wand's head.

“'Ello.” Lemmy simple stated. Given the complexities of running Genlic, Lemmy's innocent gesture was almost a humorous sign.

“Hi Lemmy.” responded Larry.

“How's it going over there?” Lemmy asked.

In response, Larry turned the wand around and showed him the commotion inside the dining hall. “Very busy.” Larry said before turning the wand back around.

“Wow!” Lemmy exclaimed. “At my place, we just get together in one large group to talk about something, and its random. It's nothing like what you have.”

“It's a big place here.” said Larry. “Everyone needs to be more organized. It sounds like you're more laid back.”

“Yeah I guess.” said Lemmy. “We had some breakfast and talked about the sun, then everyone went off to do their own thing. Everyone knows what they need to do, so they just do it.”

“Sounds like a luxury.” said Larry. “Here, everything is closer to a cooperative. There's a lot of logistics involved so everything needs to be tightly organized.”

“Oh.” Lemmy suddenly put on a childish frown. “I hope I don't die.”

Larry thought to himself. “I don't think any sane person would, unless he had no other choice.” he said. “Still there's a lot that I'm going to miss. I already miss the Internet.”

“I don't...well, besides watching videos.” said Lemmy. “Too many trolls ruined it for everyone. I got trolled too many times. Too many haters, too many people didn't care. And too many people forgot that there's another person on the other side of the screen. I'm happy that's over with.”

“We're developing a replacement.” Larry said.

“Oh really? How? No one's building computers anymore and the grid is long gone.”

“You know how texting used to work?” Larry asked. “You'd have cell towers for whatever band you were on. Now imagine texting but with radio waves. Different frequencies, but the same concept. I hope you didn't throw away your cell phone yet.”

“I knew of an app that let you text over wifi.” Lemmy said. “But that was only for certain models. Isn't the wifi range small anyway?”

“It is, by about 30 feet.” said Larry. “This doesn't use wifi, it uses radiowaves. You could use shortwaves for this and specify a certain range dedicated to it. But in order for it to work, the sender needs to encode the text while the receiver needs to decode the text. We're still work on that part of it.”

“That's not really the Internet though.” Lemmy pointed out. “That's texting.”

“The old Internet may never come back.” Larry admitted, “But simple pages with text and a few pictures can be transferred. Ham's already know how to encode pictures using radiowaves, but that was not invented using cell phones. That was with computers. We're still working on that, but the beta project looks good right now. We can send pictures between two cell phones using shortwave. If we all don't die in this then I'll let you know if they ever finish that, since it would be awesome to trade pics of the disaster areas.”

“But there's no way to power these huge servers now.” said Lemmy.

“Yeah, I know. Some of us have some archived webpages and other things on our phones, so there are some things that we saved. This is not a priority project or anything, it's something the radio group is doing on the side but I think it has a lot of potential. You could make contact on x frequency and then send pics using either the same frequency or one close by it.”

“Hey, have you heard from Iggy?” Lemmy asked.

“No, but...” Larry looked at his situation with his mind. “He's in some trouble. Penny's shelter flooded and they seem to be relocating to the Temple of Marthos. The Temple of Erzembar also received damage from that adjustment a while ago. That's not a pretty set up.”

Lemmy frowned. “I wish I could help him.”

“These aren't the old days anymore.” Larry pointed out. “We all have our own things to do now. We can't just rush over there unless it's bad, and even then...look how busy I am right now. Can you afford to help him?”

“I wish I could.” Lemmy lamented. 'If I had the time, I would fly over there.”

“And things are on the edge right now. Sorry Lemmy, but my next group is ready. We'll talk later.”

“Okay. Good luck!” Lemmy exclaimed.

“...yeah, you too.” said Larry as Lemmy's face faded into nothingness.

* * *

Iggy looked at the 11 AM sun with sweat pouring down his face, That's what he guessed it was for he really didn't know. He kept forgetting to check the sundial back at the Temple of Marthos. All he knew was that the desert had grown hot and stifling, making his and the labors of others much more difficult than it should be. The sand burned the bottom of his feet to the point that he needed to take a break. Fortunately, much of what remained of Penny's shelter had already been moved into the Temple of Marthos. But there was that one problem...

“So what are you going to do about that?” Penny asked, reading his thoughts.

“I'm going to tell all those voices to shut up first.” said Iggy as he walked into the shade of the temple.

“That won't help.” Penny pointed out.

“But they won't help either.” Iggy countered. “They want me to hold their hand. Bunch of little babies. Do it yourselves. Do it yourselves!” he called out to no one in particular. “I'm going inside.” Iggy muttered. “And will check out what's under this thing.” he later thought.

“Okay.” was all Penny could think of. He didn't look too good and Penny guessed he was dehydrated, not to mention fed up with the complaints of millions across the planet. “There's a jug of water near the stairs inside the entrance.” she later thought.

“I wish I could wash this all away.” was what she heard back in her mind. Knowing him, he needed to “let loose” for a while. Considering what she could hear in her own head, Iggy could not be blamed. It was enough to make anyone go insane. She turned back to her former colony and decided to keep going for as long as the voices allowed her.

* * *

He drank three of the five gallons in the plastic jug before finally setting it down. “No, no!” he said out loud. “Find your own courage!” He screwed the cap back on and headed down into the temple. “You can do that yourself. Why don't you do it instead? Me? I'm helping her indirectly.” He took out the Wand of Erzembar and half gallantly scanned the walls for anything out of place. At that moment he saw Lemmy's thoughts of the Internet in the unconscious neural network and laughed. “Everyone is a superstar! Have your grandma take your Koopabook photo and shine like a God! Shiiiiiiine! Hahahahahaha!” He sighed. “I'm so glad I'll never see that place again. Narcissistic hellhole. Yes, it's all about you! Bow to me, I have 1,856 likes on my photo! My Empire, bow to me as I hath finished cleaning my dishwasher! It is clean! Now clean your hearts! Clean your hearts!!!” Silence. Something so natural yet so expensive in a world of loud, frightened children. “Children, cover your cowardice and claim yourselves rulers of the sandbox! Oh wait.” Iggy stopped walking and noticed a neat looking wall to his left. It was as if it beckoned to him and it did: he saw the other side, one of the layers of vision afforded to him by the Spirit Wand. He pointed the Wand of Erzembar to the center of the wall, a rectangle containing a circle at its center. The whole mural lit up then lifted upwards, exposing a path leading downwards.

“Where everybody goes...” Iggy muttered, descending down into it using the wand as a light. “The fall again. Your castles are made of sand. Be proud, be...what are you doing? Just lick her nipples, you're not going to survive anyway. Because you keep thinking of nipples? What about your toilet? No, I'm perfectly sane.” He turned around with a straight face and looked up the way he came. “Hm.” He turned back around and continued on his way. The kids could dream as much as they wanted.

“No way, continue circling, blinded by illusions...sir, please. I strongly suggest you place that sharp object back immediately.” Iggy said with a baritone authority to a deranged 25 year old Koopa named Stan who held a sharp kitchen knife as he threatened his pregnant 23 year old girlfriend within a town upon the southern eves of the western Koopa Crags called Thillet.”Your animalistic self has overridden your logical mind and threatens to...” He abruptly stopped walking and banged his head on the wall. “Wasn't that fun, moron? Now do it to yourself!...wow, he did it. God damn.” Iggy started yet again. “Justice, respect? What is respect? What is it? You tell me! It is earned, not given. You can't respect her butthole? But no, butthole. You are denied entry. Respect her uses of it: poop. Poop on pogo sticks! It is exactly this: a 3 quarters turn on the roundabout into the land of caring what your loved ones say! My god my god, what are you thinking?”

This made Iggy stop and looked around him with a relatively blank mind, a small reprieve from the constant torture from the thoughts of his race. He had reached a four way and in the center of the room was a small fountain that contained no water. Immediately, Iggy saw in his mind a “four way” and waved the air as if to dispel it. “Buzz! Buzz off!” He thought about the chemical composition of two hydrogen atoms bonding with one oxygen and the library of Koopa Central came to mind: there was the perfect book for it, the solution to one problem...even though it now only existed in memory.

“But, with the evidence of a non-porcelain depository of aqua pura installed within the recesses of a pyramidal complex not thought to have been designed with such vital necessities as keeping yourself alive, the hypothetic supposition may then be offered.” Iggy suddenly switched to the Spirit Wand and pointed it down the left passage. Colors blurred and faded from his view and even the walls disappeared as the density of all objects shifted around him to transparency. Erzembar and its entire underground capacity could be seen in the distance along with a network of pipes stretching out around and beyond the former survival site into the entire area, including a tank-like structure at the bottom of the ramp he now looked down upon.

“Ha! HaAhhahaAhha!” Iggy laughed maniacally. He wished he was wearing a business suit at that moment to celebrate the importance of such a discovery, but only for 5 seconds. It was damn hot down there. Iggy had found a water source, supplied from Erzembar straight to Marthos. Of course, why would it be any different?

He triumphantly made his way down the shaft where he soon came across a small room with a rectangular mechanical device. The proximity of the Wand of Erzembar caused it to activate and it began to pump water into the fountain behind him.

“Very good!” Iggy exclaimed, until an eruption of voices filled his mind again. But they weren't the usual; looking up, Iggy saw an argument on the surface with people surrounding Penny in a heated debate. He sighed, hoping it wouldn't come to this. Switching back to the Spirit Wand, he teleported himself to the surface in the middle of the argument. Everyone fell silent at the sight.

“This isn't about luxury, it is about surviving.” Iggy started. “No one really expected Inauro's Temple to flood. And if they did, it wasn't this early. So what do you do? Blame someone who couldn't have caused it? No. Direct your anger to something better. We have already saved a number of crops that would've died in that flood and in this sun too, and I just activated a sub-pump below the temple of Marthos that takes water from within Erzembar. So yes, we have water. We have food, we have an angry sun that shows no mercy. The Earth stopped rotating, we are in the last days before the pole shift and instead of trying to work together we are arguing. How about we clean up the Temple of Marthos and try to make it a home instead?”

“I was promised a place to stay.” said one Koopa.

“Yes and you got it.” said Iggy. “A place to stay is variable of course.”

“You call sleeping on the floor of some ancient temple a place to stay?” The Koopa complained. “Inauro was barely tolerable as a place to stay. What about Erzembar? Is there a reason why it can't be used?”

“The ceiling collapsed because an old “dormant” fault line suddenly ripped open south of the complex.” Iggy explained. “It's fixed now, but it's too dangerous. The AI believes so as well.”

“Then why come out here at all?” The Koopa complained.

“If I had known about the fault line, then I wouldn't have come out here.” Iggy claimed. Upon a thought queue, Penny vanished then reappeared a moment later holding the orb of Erzembar in her hands. “Greetings.” it proclaimed, lighting itself up. “I understand there is an inquiry as to the reason why the Temple of Erzembar must be vacated. The Kermillion fault which lies directly to the south of the complex has grown further and threatens to severely damage much of the temple. Parts have already been damaged from adjustments, and living spaces are vulnerable to continued adjustments. Dwelling there is potentially deadly for risk of being buried alive. I do not recommend such a course of action.”

“Oh that's ridiculous.” The Koopa said. “I got ripped off and will die out here now.”

Iggy realized that he was facing the same lesson Ludwig did during his migration. That ended in disaster for him and began his downward spiral to losing his kingship, an outcome much desired by the enemy. While Iggy didn't have that many bureaucrats at his back, he did have a few millionaires who believed they were entitled to the best things in life along with a few darker individuals. But Iggy would not end up like Ludwig. Power needed to be used appropriately.

“Living in a survival shelter does not mean living in luxury with a comfortable memory foam mattress and a hot bath every morning.” Iggy explained. “Even hot water is a luxury, but thats easy out here. Point is, you came out here because you saw my invitation and you came out of choice. You paid nothing to get in, no contracts were signed, no arbitrary clauses need to be followed because there are none. There are no refunds because there's nothing to give back. This is about living, not about money.”

The Koopa grunted to himself. “I made a bad deal.” he muttered. “If your shelter will not reflect someone of status such as yourself, then I'm out of here.” He walked past Iggy and headed out into the middle of the open desert with nothing but the clothes on his back.

“Anyone else?” Iggy asked. In the back of the crowd, Iggy became aware of the assassin's knife being unsheathed and he immediately thrust the Spirit Wand forward towards his direction. A pilgrim wannabe wearing a white robe was captured inside a bright radiance. The assassin tried to leap forward, but suddenly found his knife immediately liquefy onto his arm and instead he fell to his knees, crying out in pain. The former disgruntled Koopa suddenly turned back and fired a magic shot at Penny, who disappeared in response. Reappearing behind him without the burden of Erzembar, he was also caught in the same radiance as Penny cast the same spell in his direction. He screamed and fell to the ground in agony as his skin began to melt away. It was like killing a fly with a magnifying glass.

Other wannabe assassins attempted their part and the rest of the crowd backed away from the spectacle. “My apologies.” Iggy said, and thrust the Spirit Wand into the sand, unleashing a shockwave of light that felled several more individuals nearby, all crying out in pain as their skin cooked and blistered. 

“Servants of the UmNaru remnant!” Iggy proclaimed, picking his wand back up. “I will address you like you are with no formalities, masks or illusions. I have let you linger here until now, where any of your kind is not allowed here to begin with. Now this is an open rule. Go back to Narec and tell him---”

“No return without fulfillment.” hissed the first Koopa. “You will fall like the first one: too arrogant to see---”

“Your own problems.” Iggy finished for him. “I'm well aware of how duality works and how the darkness does not, of course. You came with the intent to kill, but I let you live anyway despite knowing your plans long beforehand. Will you return to your master, or return to heaven instead?”

“No return without fulfillment.” the second assassin repeated, and attempted to throw his knife at the Koopaling, but the knife instead traveled to the side and landed far from its intended target due to Iggy manipulating its gravity. Several people moved to help hold the intruders down, but Iggy mentally told them to stay back.

“So be it.” Iggy clenched his fist and waves of darkness flowed out of the would-be assassins bodies as they convulsed violently under the spell. Floating above the ground, one by one they fell limp until all had become discarnate. Relaxing his fist, the bodies fell harmlessly to the sand. 

“Have fun in hell.” Iggy said, looking up at the sky.

“Why the hell would they want to kill him?” someone blurted out.

“He let them die with that huge wall of light.” said another. “They probably want their revenge.”

“God's Wrath.” Iggy corrected her. “Their hybrids survived, but they wont have their way with me or any of us.” He turned. “You okay Penny?”

Penny looked up from the corpse, silencing the voices in her mind. “Yes...let's just burn the bodies and get back to work.”

“We got it.” Pairs of hands took the corpses off and threw them into a pile. Iggy wondered about Roy's kids and their ultimate fate under Narec's teachings. In many respects, it was still too early to tell what would happen to them. Free will dictates the course of action in third density, and the increasing presence of fourth density would only further drop the veils that separated themselves from others. In many respects, it will be their choices that will decide the outcome.

* * *

Narec looked out a window which overlooked the Koopa Sea to the south. He could not afford to have the Spirit King hamper his plans. At the same time, it was now too close to the shift to attempt any further damage to him. It would be wiser to see the results after the shift rather than potentially wasting valuable resources.

Hearing a thump, Narec turned around to find Beth upon the ground with cuts and bruises, with her sister Kristin pointing her newly created wand at her.

“Excellent.” Narec said. “You are quickly learning how to become a true leader.” With a snap of his finger two shades took Beth and dragged her across the ground into the next room.

“I hope they all aren't this easy.” Kristin complained, eying her remaining siblings.

“Do not say such things.” Narec warned. “The easier they are, the faster your power grows. Remember the power of words on reality.” He pointed to Duke. “You.”

“...why do I have to fight her?” Duke complained.

“If you do not fight her --” Suddenly, there was a major earthquake then which threw everyone to the ground. Looking outside, Duke saw an amazing sight and darted to the window. The dark and abandoned skyscrapers swung from left to right, until another Earth jolt catapulted them into each other, sending metal and glass in all directions. They fell to the ground with the sound of explosions, and the whole outside was filled with voices amidst the rain of debris upon them. Upon one skyscraper, Duke witnessed a large Koopa make a heroic leap onto another falling building before the being leapt out of sight. “I want to do that.” he muttered.

“Can we get back to fighting before the world ends?” Kristin complained, her sadistic tendencies briefly showing.

“No way! This is amazing!” Stevie said, refusing to budge.

“Says the loser.” Kristin pointed out.

Beth had dragged herself over after having her wounds quickly attended to. “This fighting, there's no point. Can we do something where we can get along?”

“No.” said Narec, having enough of their deliberations. “Your dominance over others reflects the power inherent within you. Now Kristin, it is time to put Duke in his place.”

Kristin punched Duke in the shoulder as she walked past, with the latter staring at her as she took up her former position inside the ring. Something troubled Duke about all of this, like it troubled Vincent since he became aware. Vincent had remained quiet, studying his siblings reactions hoping they would see what he could, about how ridiculous this all was. Even though more seemed to be getting it, a danger lurked in the back of his mind and so he simply remained passive for now.

Narec also observed their reactions and grew worried. It was not his imagination: there was an intrusion upon his black arts, something white in spectrum that was spreading like a plague amongst the group. He sensed it came from Vincent, but Narec had not instructed them in white magic and so the influence must have been external. Diadora was a prime suspect and her presence had been removed, but this had not stopped the vibration from spreading. It was possible the Spirit King had a hand in this. Normally such intrusions of white magic by the sole discretion of the wielder would result in execution. But if this was indeed the work of the Spirit King, then he would have to tread around this carefully. Already the two male heirs were corrupted, and execution was not an option, which would probably incur Iggy's wrath at any rate and now served no purpose. 

“Duke does not want to fight.” said Kristin, interrupting his thoughts. “I suppose being tortured is less humiliating than being beaten by his sister. He should be moved to the dungeon and have his balls cut off.”

“I'm not going to do something so wrong.” Duke muttered, but Kristin snorted in response. She walked over to him and punched him in the face, sending him to the floor. 

“What the hell for that for?” Duke cried. But his response was a swift kick to the nuts, making him moan in pain.

“You don't deserve those.” Kristin said. “I'll rip them out myself.”

“Stop it! He's not going to fight you.” Vincent said, getting up. 

“Yeah he won't. He's too much of a wuss.” Kristin chuckled. “And you probably won't either, right? That would make me the most powerful Koopa, so I do hope you say no.”

“I won't fight you...” said Vincent. “...unless I can kill you.”

“What?” Kristin turned towards Vincent, not sure if she heard that right.

“You heard me. I won't fight you unless I can kill you. People like you should not exist on this planet...and I will make sure you leave this place as quick as you came.”

Kristin stood there in shock, clearly not expecting such a response. Vincent turned to Narec, who was watching the Koopaling in turn, He could not refuse and Vincent knew it, as it would go against everything that was being taught to them.

At length, Narec reluctantly nodded and the two Koopalings positioned themselves inside the circle, each taking out their crafted wands. Kristin's purple wand immediately summoned several dopplegangers of herself, each casting spells of their own account before they all spun around each other in a dizzying dance. In response, Vincent waved his red wand and suddenly disappeared from mortal eyes.

“Cheap trick, Vincent!” She cast a simple scrying spell, expecting to see him in her minds eye. But much to her amazement, he was nowhere to be seen. Weren't all magic signatures detectable?

Narec folded his arms, knowing what had occurred. Frankly, the Koopaling should not have learned that yet. It was a spell well above their current level and knew he would have to do something about it once the fight was over, win or loss. Predictably, one of Kristin's dopplegangers suddenly fell over with a blast of red flame and dissipated into nothingness. Briefly sensing her brother's signature, Kristin unleashed a shockwave of ice but the signature disappeared again before the wave could make contact.

“Where are you?” Kristin muttered, trying another scanning spell. “When I win, I will kill you myself and make you the example for everyone else.” But her spells, despite flying through the entire circumference of the ring did not make contact with Vincent. She finally realized that he had an edge over her, but that only strengthened her resolve. She then had an idea. 

She turned toward Duke and prepared a spell to take care of the thing she hated so much once and for all. “Let's start with you, Duke. I'm going to have fun with this.” But she had exposed her real self with this gesture in contrast with the other dopplegangers and Vincent moved in with his final strike. Kristin saw his signature briefly and ordered her other selves to hit. But he was faster, and a beam of fire quickly struck the real Kristin and she was sent flying backwards out of the ring and into the back wall. She slipped to the ground with a large wound just inches above her heart, She didn't appear to move afterwards. Her dopplegangers dissolved moments later.

“That's enough.” Narec said in disgust. Not only was his strongest weapon against Vincent incapacitated, but that this was the best outcome that he could have hoped for. At the same time, Vincent was a possible future heir and could not be allowed to be killed by Kristin or by anyone.

“Reveal yourself.” Narec ordered. Vincent appeared walking towards Duke, who was trying to regulate his breathing. Narec snapped his finger and a pair of shades appeared over Kristin to check her vitals.

“She is alive, but mortally wounded.” said one. “She needs care immediately.” 

Narec grew angry as he watched Vincent pull Duke back onto the bench. “Walking in shadows. Where did you learn that?” 

“Does it matter?” Vincent rebuked. “Half my family is in pain and they need help from people who actually care.”

“I did not teach that.” said Narec, “And neither should young ones like you use it.”

“You also taught us to kill each other.” Vincent pointed out.

“A necessity later in life.” Narec claimed.

“And we're just kids. Is there some first aid I can get somewhere?” he asked.

“If you're so powerful, why don't you use your own magic?” Narec taunted. Vincent looked at him with disgust. It was true that he had peeked into the magic scrolls without permission, along with some other things that wouldn't be “approved” of. But he didn't blame himself. His family was being hurt by a madman bent to have them serve under his will, and his sister had chosen to follow his teachings and revealed her true self to everyone. Such people who only cared for themselves and risked everything for their own skin did not belong in the world, Vincent believed. Only those who cared for others deserved to be a part of this place.

“...okay.” Vincent pulled out his wand again. “I'll use my own magic. You ready?”

Narec frowned. Another spell he shouldn't have learned? The fact that he had been unable to see this himself was concerning. While the boy was not a major threat, his power was growing faster than he had anticipated and in all the wrong areas.

Vincent's wand flashed and cross from him appeared Diadora Koopa, suddenly freed from her confinement. She looked around in surprise and then to Kristin who lied on the floor, surrounded by shades. “What in the hell happened?” she exclaimed, running over to her wounded daughter.

Grunting, Narec extended his hand in an attempt to control her, but the spell had no affect on her. “What?” he said in surprise. His control over them was slipping. Somehow, white magic was blocking his efforts. Vincent alone could not do all of this. “Spirit King...” he muttered, turning to look out at one of the volcanoes erupting in the distance. “Your time will come. Puppets are only as usual as their strings will allow.”

The other siblings ran to their mother, who was now cradling a dying Kristin. “They made us fight her.” Stevie explained. “We kept losing. Then Kristin started abusing Duke, like she punched him in the face, kicked his jewels and wanted to torture him in the dungeon.”

Diadora shook her head. “Can't we get some medical?” The shades looked at their master who did not respond. Instead, they disappeared then reappeared moments later with more dressings, bandages and ointments. 

“So how goes...” Wendy O. Koopa appeared through another door with a confused look on her face. “Like, what happened here? Why is she out of her cell?” But Narec made a motion with his fingers and she joined her master's side in low whispers.

“Who did this?” Diadora asked. All of the remaining siblings pointed to Vincent. “There's...no reason why she did what she did.” he explained, but he was met with a hard slap across the face.

“How dare you! Why would you do something like this to her? She's your sister! Will you do this to the rest of us too?” Diadora cried.

“Wow. Mom, please chill.” Duke pleaded. “He saved me.”

“No Duke, listen.” Diadora said, looking at him. “It is not right to hurt anybody just because they might be wrong about something. Even if they abuse you, that doesn't give you the right to kill someone.”

“Mom,” Vincent began, “She--”

“Now you listen Vincent.” Diadora scorned. “She's not at fault for what she did--”

“No mom, you listen.” Vincent demanded. “Kristin has been hurting Beth ever since we started fighting, spraining her arm and nearly breaking her leg and she said she loved doing it. She hurt Stevie and broke her leg which she's just getting over now. And she hurt Duke, kicked his balls, punched him in the face and said she'd torture him after she was done fighting him. Are you saying its wrong to protect Stevie, Beth and Duke from her?”

“It's wrong to try and kill her!” Diadora shouted. “She's your sister and you should be ashamed of yourself!”

“Not when she wanted to do the same to us!” Vincent said. “You don't know what happened here, mom.”

“I know you tried to kill her, which is inexcusable!” 

“You're not listening.” Vincent shook his head.

“I've heard enough! Soon you'll kill the other too, won't you?” she said.

“So it's better to let her kill us and have her live?” Vincent asked. “And it would be called an accident, right? Oops, tortured him too much! Don't worry, not your fault!”

“Get out of my face!!!” cried Diadora, with tears running down her cheeks.

“I---wow.” Vincent turned away and walked back to the bench, realizing that there was no talking sense into her. She was clearly out of her mind, and he was now essentially on his own.

Kristin stirred into consciousness and looked at her mother. “I'm sorry mama...I wasn't the strongest. He beat me...Vincent beat me.”

Vincent watched the interchange from his seat with concern as Stevie and Beth wrapped bandages around her wounds. Diadora said something to Duke, who then walked over to Vincent. “Mom says she wants her you-know-what back. She says you don't deserve it.”

Vincent wondered what he was talking about, but then looked at the ring on his finger. That was the reason? So that was the cause of his awakening! If he was right, then the magic had spread from the ring to the rest of the family. That meant there was no way he could give it back now.

“I can't Duke.” Vincent replied. “Mom is out of her mind. If they figure out how we woke up, then we're screwed.”

“Wait, so that's...oh.” Duke came upon the realization himself. “I gotcha. Keep it. I'll say something to her.” He walked off, trying to figure out what he would actually say. Narec had overheard them converse, and wondered what Vincent possessed that would give off such a strong aura of white magic.

But before he could deduce any further, the whole room shook and many were again rattled from their feet. It seemed to be another earthquake, but the wall in the southwest corner started to cave inwards, and with another rumble a large section of the wall collapsed into the room with a rumble. Instinctively, Narec took out his wand and Wendy mimicked his movements as a large Koopa stepped into view.

Vincent looked at the menacing figure. “Who's this guy?”


	44. Over the Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy Koopa battles with Narec Morello and Wendy to rescue his family from their clutches. Meanwhile, Ludwig's children decide to ask their father about visiting their mother on the surface, but a catastrophic emergency occurs and Kylie is forced into a situation of which her actions may decide the fate of her loved ones. Morton Koopa Jr's colony in Bambesh Valley begins to take the heat of an increasingly stressed Earth, and after some fallout from a civilian decides to move into his shelter. Just in time as the Great Destroyer has one more surprise in store for the people's of the world.

“Roy...” Narec greeted. “Welcome back to--”

Roy Koopa held up his hand. “Can't talk yet. Who took them?”

“It was I, of course.” Narec answered.

“Nope. Who took them?” he asked again, having sensed his lie.

“...is that Roy?” Diadora looked up and saw her husband conversing with the devil himself. “Roy! Look what happened with Kristin!”

“Can't talk yet.” Roy repeated.

“Fine, it was me.” Wendy admitted. “Since you loved to torture me so much, I thought--”

With a sudden movement, Roy pulled out his Earth Wand and an invisible force of energy slammed Wendy through one of the windows, shattering it and sending her falling towards the ground many feet below.

“Can talk now.” Roy said. “No puppets, no games. Face to face.”

“An unwelcome introduction.” Narec muttered. “Your children have been kept safely and taught the various disciplines of the line of Marthos. Soon they will be killing all those who stand in their way as any UmNaru would do.”

“Wendy stole them.” Roy said. “You taught them your ways. I didn't say any of this was fine with me. They're going back.”

“That is not for you to decide.” Narec said.

“Earth King overrules UmNaru pretenders.” said Roy.

“The UmNaru are the rulers of this planet and always will be,” Narec proudly stated.

“The UmNaru are dead.” said Roy.

“You will be soon.” Narec cast a necrosis spell on Roy, who blocked it and sent a barrage of purple flames at Narec, who simply jumped out of the way. Narec prepared an entrapment spell, but was caught off guard by sharp rock falling from the ceiling, a type of Earth spell. They also grew from the floor and nearly pierced his foot as Narec jumped backwards again. Roy took the opportunity and charged full force into Narec, slamming him through the opposite wall and into a wide hallway.

“Let's go upstairs everyone.” said Diadora, getting up with Kristin in her arms. “It's not safe here. Let's go to the throne room.” She headed towards the archway in the back of the room, reluctantly followed by her children. Vincent got up and Diadora abruptly stopped. “Not you. You are not my son. Where is the ring, Duke?”

“What?” Vincent couldn't believe this woman. The mother who gave him the chance to break free from Narec's spells now, in her emotional madness wanted to take that away from him.

“He kept it.” said Duke, too honest to lie.

“He doesn't deserve it. Vincent, my ring please.” Diadora demanded.

“If what you said is true.” Vincent began, choosing his words carefully, “Then you cannot be my mother. So I have no ring to give to you.”

Diadora's face twisted at his words. “What did you say?”

“If I am not your son, then you are not my mother.” said Vincent. “This ring was my mothers until she gave it to me to help us wake up from this evil, whatever it is. But since I have no mother now, I have nothing to give back.”

Diadora shook her head before walking through the doorway with her children following behind her. Before passing through, Beth turned around and looked at her brother. “I'm sorry.” she apologized.

“It's not your fault.” said Vincent. Indeed, his former mother did this to herself. After a moment, Beth ran through the archway to catch up with her siblings, walking up a set of stairs until they were gone from view. He frowned, wishing he could fix things for the better, but instead decided to watch the fight down the hall.

Meanwhile, Narec darted aside from a wall of purple flame that hosed towards his direction. The irony was not lost on him. It was the same flame that should have been bearing down on his enemies, but instead was being thrown down on himself, perhaps as some sort of payback. Roy was proving to be more powerful than he thought, but it didn't matter. The trap was about to spring.

Narec closed in with a paralysis spell, but Roy swept the stones from the floor and his opponent fell flat on his shell. With the Earth Wand, Roy moved in for the kill but was stopped short as a pair of windows shattered next to him. Up from below came Wendy, landing with a thud. Wasting no time, she used her wand to prepare an ice spell on him. Not wanting to lose his target, Roy pulled out his own black-gemmed wand and attempted to duel wield and shot a blast of fire at her sister, disrupting her spell. This gave Narec the chance to recover, and getting up he pulled out a long sword and thrust it in Roy's direction. Roy parried, the Earth Wand breaking the sword into fragments, but Wendy prepared another spell again, prompting Roy to block her. Suddenly, she cancelled on purpose then cast paralysis on his arm, and it fell to his side powerless. Grinning, Wendy swung her wand and Roy's wand flew backwards towards the way they came. Distracted, he did not have enough time to counter Narec's next spell. It hit before he could block, and a surging pain ignited through his body. He cried in pain, his skin melting before him like snow in the summer. His muscles followed next and all his tendons until a blackness overtook him, and his decaying body fell to the ground until nothing but his bones remained.

“Goodbye, Earth King.” Narec muttered. “Your usefulness has finished with us. This little rebellion has come to an end.” He stooped and pried the Earth Wand from Roy's bony claws. But the wand glowed red and Narec yelped in pain before dropping it back onto the bone pile. “Hmph. He left a few surprises.”

Wendy herself stooped to take the wand, but Narec stopped her. “No. The wand was pre-cast with a type of signature protection. Only he can hold the wand.”

“Then how do we dispel it?” Wendy asked. Narec waved his wand for a moment, but nothing happened. “It is what I thought. This requires the other polarity to dispel. Queen Kylie would not be willing to cooperate, controlled or not. We must consult the archives as I recall a technique for this problem, but do not remember its verbiage.”

Narec walked back towards the duel room, prompting Vincent to turn around and hide. “The fact that the wand has not reunited with its polarity is strange as well.” Narec said, coming closer. “Usually the wand would...wait.” Narec turned around and saw Roy's bones moving themselves back together. Moving through the air, they reconstructed his former frame with the Earth Wand, now glowing blue, flying into his right hand. “I should have perceived this.” Narec muttered to himself.

“...Dry Roy?” Wendy blurted out. 

“This was undoubtedly meant for Bowser.” Narec said, ignoring her. “He used such spells frequently with those human delinquents. This last charge was never used as he gave the wand to Bowser Junior, who held it until it was taken from him. That means he was never resurrected in the Divine Cathedral. Now we must deal with what remains of Bowser's legacy.”

Dry Roy laughed in response, a noise not heard from mortal flesh. Inhaling, it breathed out a swath of blue flame that covered the entire hallway. Narec hid inside of his shell, but Wendy was caught in the blast and she screamed in agony. 

“Aaaaaiiiiieeeee!” Wendy cried, running back towards the duel room. “My face! My face!!!” Vincent hugged the wall to avoid being spotted, but the woman did not pay any attention to him, too focused on finding a bathroom. She ran straight across into the other broken wall and was soon gone from sight. Vincent looked back into the hallway and was startled to find a bunch of bones beating back Narec down the hallway with a series of blue blasts. He thought about helping the guy, but now he wasn't so sure as he has not seen an un-dead like this one before, and didn't know its real allegiance. 

Yet another jolt shook Vincent from his feet as it traveled through the castle. A crack spread across the floor and the whole wall next to him seemed to shift downwards. Looking back, he saw the entire hallway had shifted downwards and that Narec along with Dry Roy were sliding down towards the end of the hall, now open to the outside. The whole castle seemed to shift on its foundations. Another jolt and Vincent suddenly stumbled forward and fell down, sliding down the hallway with his curiosity getting the better of him. He spotted a wand laying nearby wedged between two rocks. Vincent reached out but was too far away to grab it, and he continued to slide downwards.

Before sliding into the great below, Narec managed to grab the edge of the hallway as clusters of debris flew by him. Dry Roy, who was now attempting to grow muscle back, slammed into Narec and both fell towards the next castle level below. But Narec twisted around in the air and fired an air blast, sending Dry Roy into a broken skyscraper in the distance.

Narec landed on all fours upon the lower castle terrace, which was much damaged with cracks and stones tossed alongside him. Already the sky was filled with trumpets, the growls of the Earth, the music of metal and the roar of volcanoes. It was coming.

Vincent had managed to stop his descent upon a pillar on the outer edge. He pulled out his wand on instinct as the loud noises now filled what used to be the hallway. There was no safe way down there unless he slid down along with them. He looked out the broken windows to find alternatives, but only found buildings slowly crashing into the ground in the distance and could not see any ledges around him.

Narec appeared below him, having jumped back up into the hallway. That undead dry bones was nowhere to be seen. Vincent prepared himself, but Narec was one step ahead of him and send a shock wave towards Vincent that sent him flying diagonally upwards through the air until he smashed into the ceiling of the duel room. He feel to the floor and rolled onto his side. “Ow.” he muttered.

Narec snickered, unaware of a more peculiar noise increasing with intensity behind him. By the time he turned around, a skyscraper was seen falling directly towards the castle and was nearly on top of him. He was forced to run upwards but was hardly given a chance as the ceiling collapsed under the weight moments later, sending stone and metal to the floor. With no other choice, Narec teleported himself back into the duel room looking for Vincent, but he was nowhere in sight. He saw the hallway collapse and a magical explosion of one of the skyscrapers windows. From within came Roy Koopa, now beginning to develop skin around his mass. He leaped up the slope and reached the wall but slammed into an invisible barrier at the top. Narec laughed, watching him fall way back down below. But Narec's senses suddenly tingled and he thrust his wand behind him, but it hit only air. Vincent had disappeared. 

The bottom of the floor exploded then, sending Narec backwards onto his back once again. Roy charged through the floor and threw a large fireball at Narec, who instead deflected the ball of flame back at Roy, who then side stepped as it flew harmlessly past him. The skyscraper had stopped moving and now lay to rest upon the eastern side of John's Castle, covering the former hallway with a wall of metal.

Narec prepared a paralysis spell, but was forced to turn and was barely able to counter an invisible Vincent's parry, making him visible again. Roy rushed forward and attempted to sock his chin but was forced to step back as a now paralysis charged wand swung and nearly hit him. Side stepping an invisible Vincent's attack, Narec swung again and made contact with the Earth Wand before punching Roy's chin. With Roy stunned, Narec attempted to swing at the Earth King but instead Roy ducked down and sliced Narec's knee with one of his hunting knives.

Narec fell to his knee and swung the wand around him, making Roy and Vincent jump back. Narec then unleashed his paralysis spell in a charged shot towards Roy's feet, which to his amazement succeeded as Roy had blocked above that area, and Roy's movements completely froze in mere seconds. Narec attempted to stand, but this was short lived as a magic blast hit Narec in the arm, sending his wand rolling across the room. Vincent appeared and seemed to go for the kill, but Narec in a desperate attempt unleashed a massive air spell with his good arm, sending the paralyzed Roy and Vincent through the windows and tumbling through the air. Vincent's wand flew out of his hand in the process, but he cared little as he was too focused on the ledge getting closer to him. He managed to grab on to it with his body slamming against the wall. Roy however, still paralyzed fell past him like a tumbling rock towards the chaos below.

Vincent tried to pull himself up, but his strength was being tested as he was in pain from his previous injuries. He managed to pull his elbows up to the edge until he saw Narec in the window sills, hunched over but with his wand in the other hand. He fired a small fireball at the ledge, and Vincent was forced to shuffle himself to the side as it smashed the rock next to him. Vincent needed to think of a way out of this fast. Backtracking, Vincent remembered the wand he tried to grab as he slid down the hallway earlier. It was probably buried now, but one of the mind lessons he received gave him an idea.

Another fireball hit the ledge to his right and Vincent quickly started to cast a spell he learned with a free hand. This distracted Narec, who then blocked thinking the youth would try to throw something at him. Suddenly, there was an explosion of fuchsia flame to Narec's left, and by the time he turned around it was too late. A massive fuchsia fireball knocked Narec straight out of the window, making him lose his wand in the process. He tried to land on the same ledge below, but instead he bounced off it and continued falling through the air until Vincent could no longer see him. 

Pulling himself up with a groan, Vincent winced as he stood up, his muscles in pain from that fight. The noises had not ceased during the fight, and now in the open he heard them full blast. Above, the volcanic clouds moved swiftly across the sky, but between the folds he saw a great orange shape that seemed larger than the sun. He was told that it was the end of the world, that their home planet, “Naru” had returned. Was this Naru? And if so, what did the end of the world really mean? So far it seemed that the Earth was under pressure given what could be seen. The world seemed to be destroying itself. What that it?

If so, then he knew he had to prepare himself regardless and find out where the rest of his family had gone. Looking up, Vincent knew he was going to have to jump back to the window sill somehow, though he had never practiced doing so before. He remembered what he read about how to do such things however, and decided to rely on his instincts. Positioning himself, he inhaled then made a jump of faith. He ended up underestimating his ability and nearly overshot his target, jumping a few feet above the blown out windows, but managed to drop and land rather smoothly. Standing up, Vincent walked through the window sills towards the former entrance to the hallway, which now sported a large hole of blasted rock and melted metal. Climbing in, he grabbed the wand at the end, its black crystal now shattered and fragmented: Vincent had overestimated its strength. Alongside the wand's upper circumference were etches of that same guy's face. It was definitely his personal wand, and Vincent decided to keep it in case they crossed paths again. Even if he didn't, having a broken wand was better than no wand at all. He just needed to find a new crystal for it. 

Stepping over debris, Vincent walked through the back archway of the room and traveled up the stairs to the next level of the castle. He heard voices come down from above, that of two women talking to each other. Reaching the last step, he walked through another archway before turning down a hallway to his right. The voices emanated from the throne room, but Vincent darted behind a pillar when he saw Wendy walk around inside.

“Use these too.” she said. “It'll keep them warm enough.”

“How soon will this happen?” he heard his mother say.

“I don't know, like...” Wendy thought to herself. “I heard it was going to be instantly. But some said it was just a steady cold. I don't know.”

“Maybe we should get jackets then.” Diadora suggested.

Vincent peeked around the corner and saw Beth looking his way. He immediately gestured for her to be quiet and she nodded in understanding.

“If I can get to that room.” Wendy said, remembering that it lay in the now damaged eastern wing. “And there's no guarantee I can find the right sizes for your little ones.”

Beth made a motion with her hands, trying to tell him to put on a jacket. Vincent nodded and slipped back behind the pillar, deciding to follow Wendy from a distance.

“Even if there isn't, more blankets wouldn't hurt.” said Diadora. “The kids won't survive the cold without them.”

Wendy sighed, defeated. “Alright. I'll see what I can find.” She walked through an eastern door and disappeared. Vincent took another peek at Beth, who was now occupied with Diadora who was turning her back to the entrance. Vincent quietly stepped past the doorway, only noticed by Duke who was then further quieted by Beth. Duke wondered if Vincent knew anything about the so-called cold weather that was supposed to come in. He hoped that his brother could find something warm soon.

* * *

“What do you think of this?” Xavier asked his siblings, having since learned a good portion of the English vocabulary.

Shirley looked out the window alongside her brother at the ground beneath Ludwig's Castle set aloft. Below them were a number of people running to and fro in a great hurry, and the ground seemed to be moving in some places like sand on a hill. 

“I don't know, but I wish I could run like that.” said Shirley. While Ludwig's children had grown from their infantile stage into adolescence, a stage known to be short in length to support survival of the species, she could not yet run that effectively despite being able to now walk upright on her back legs. “They don't seem very happy.”

“Hmph. That's their problem.” Xavier said.

“Why do we have to stay up here anyway?” asked Tommy, fiddling with a pencil. “It's boring. We should go play outside.”

“Yeah, I want to see what the grown-ups are doing out there.” said Elizabeth, walking to the window. “Mommy's always down there and she never lets us go.”

“Dad's still here.” Tommy pointed out. “Let's ask him.”

“Good idea!” Shirley exclaimed, and headed to the door with Tommy and Xavier following. 

“We're supposed to stay here.” said Elizabeth. “We're going to get in trouble if we go out there.”

“Dad doesn't punish us much anyway.” Xavier pointed out. “He won't if I'm around.”

Samantha looked up from her music book. “Can we see Trent?”

“Yeah, why not?” said Tommy, though Xavier looked annoyed. They all got up and walked to the door, where a keypad was seen next to it.

“You're the tall one Tommy.” Elizabeth said. Tommy reached but could not touch the keypad on his own. 

“But who's the light one?” Tommy asked.

“Me!!!” Shirley exclaimed, and she climbed onto her brother's shoulders. “Press the green one.” Tommy instructed. She pressed it and the door slid open before Tommy lost his balance and they fell to the ground in a heap.

Xavier walked past them somewhat amused. “I know where to find him, so follow me.”

The 7 Koopalings walked down the hallway, with many looking outside the windows to the larger world, which seemed windy, chaotic and noisy. Amy looked worried and wondered why their mother had to go down there all the time. That and the strong gusts that occasionally hit the castle walls made the journey seem dangerous.

At length, they reached the elevator to their level. Xavier motioned for Tommy and Shirley. “Two levels down.” he said, but at that moment the castle shook and many of them were knocked onto their behinds. 

“What was that?” Samantha asked.

“The wind?” Amy reasoned. Tommy saw the elevator lights pop on and knew that their dad was coming up to get them. “We're bust.”

“No we're not, I will take care of this.” Xavier proclaimed with a confident look on his face. The elevator dinged and the doors opened revealing their father, Ludwig Von Koopa with a look of concern on his face.

“Hi father.” Xavier began, “We were...”

“It is fortunate to see you adolescents safe from harm.” said Ludwig, stepping out and totally cutting off Xavier. “However, we have entered an unfortunate circumstance and I request your attention as I delineate the proper procedures to undertake at this time.”

“Okay.” Xavier merely replied, only half understanding him.

“As I explained earlier, we are facing a cataclysmic event.” said Ludwig. “The conditions outside of our castle are rapidly deteriorating, and emergency procedures must be activated if we are to assure maximum chance of survival. Please follow me.”

Ludwig walked back into the elevator followed by his children and closed the doors. The lift moved down two levels before the doors opened again to a level with a narrow hallway, the same level used for medical services.

“At the end of this hallway...” Suddenly, a violent force launched Ludwig and the Koopalings through the air, down the hallway and ultimately they all slammed against the far back wall in a big heap. Elizabeth got up and helped Tommy to his feet until she noticed her father against the wall with blood pouring down the back of his head. His eyes were closed and he did not appear to move.

“Dad?” she called as Shirley got up and shook him. But he did not respond, and the blood spilled to the floor. “Oh my god, what do we do?”

Another jolt and the lights suddenly went out, darkening their sights. The winds howled outside and all grew afraid. “Oh my god...” Shirley shook with fear, appearing to go through a nervous breakdown. “Dad's...dad needs help! Someone help him!”

At the other end of the hallway, there was a magical whirl, out of which came Kylie running. “Oh dear, oh dear...” She ran over to Ludwig and leaned him forward, finding the back of his head to be covered in blood. “Ludwig, you still there?”

“Dad's not saying anything.” said Elizabeth. Kylie checked his pulse. “He's alive, thank god. But he's knocked out cold, so you kids need to help me move him to the emergency room, okay? Xavier and Tommy, get his feet and I'll get the other end. Can you get the door Elizabeth? It's the second one on the right from the elevator.”

“But dad said something about getting supplies.” said Elizabeth.

Kylie figured this had to do with his emergency backup plan, which she knew little about. “He did?” 

“Yeah, he told us to go down to this room.” Amy pointed at the door in the back corner.

“Okay.” Kylie walked over and opened the door, looking inside. “Take these bags and backpacks and put them in the hallway for now. Get Shirley to help you.”

But Shirley seemed to be in a state of shock, unresponsive to hearing her name. “Shirley!” Kylie shook her.

“Huh?”

“Help Amy out and get these bags out into the hallway for now. We'll lug them upstairs when dad's hooked up to the bed. He will be fine, Shirley. There's magic that can deal with this sort of thing.” She suddenly wished that Iggy was there at that moment. “Focus on her for now.”

Shirley nodded meekly. “I'll try, mommy.” She embraced her.

“Believe in yourself and you can do anything.” her mother said. “When you're done, let me know.”

Shirley nodded and ran into the supply room along with Amy. It was then that Kylie finally noticed that the lights were out. Biting her lip, she eyed the nearest control panel before walking over to it. Flashing in red, it described a catastrophic electrical failure and the main engines being offline. Backup turbines had kicked in, but they weren't enough to keep the entire castle aloft and the behemoth was slowly sinking in altitude.

“Okay...let's get dad on the bed.” Walking over to Ludwig, she took hold of his shoulders and slowly spun him around with her arms around his chest. “I will drag him like this while you two take a leg and pull up, okay? Ready?” Xavier and Tommy each took a leg, albeit reluctantly. “Go!” Quickly, the two brothers lifted upwards and Kylie dragged her husband down the corridor all the way to the emergency room, where Elizabeth was seen waiting next to the doorway. They dragged him through it and entered a smallish room that housed several hospital beds. One was occupied by Trent Koopa, who had awakened and was watching the scene in horror. Elizabeth noticed her sickly brother's heart rate increase and walked over to him. “He's okay, don't worry.” she said. “He's alive. He got knocked in the head.”

Trent nodded, somewhat calming down but still concerned. Kylie positioned Ludwig to the side of the bed, then climbed on the bed herself. “On three, try to lift his legs as high as you can and swing them onto the bed. Ready? ...Three!” Kylie managed to pull Ludwig onto the bed greatly assisted by her two sons who maneuvered his legs to the front of the bed.

Kylie sighed, glad that part was over. “He needs to lose weight.” she muttered to herself. “Thank you so much you two.” Shirley ran into the room then, cutting her off. “Samantha's hurt. She can't move.”

“Go help her Tommy.” Kylie said, and Tommy ran off with her. “Xavier, help me with these cords.”

“What are these for?” Xavier asked.

“This is for the heart monitor.” she said, plugging in the cords into the oscilloscope, hoping there was backup power to the medical unit. Evidently there was and the device powered to life. Putting the other end on Ludwig's wrist, the graph showed a steady heart beat. “Okay, now help me find some wraps so we can help slow the bleeding.” Without a word, Xavier started looking through the cabinets for them.

Trent took out a pen and piece of paper lying on a table next to him and wrote some words using his knees as support. Finishing, he gave the paper to Elizabeth who read it aloud. “What is happening with the castle?” she said. “I don't know. It shook then we flew in the air down the hallway, and we hit the wall on the other side. And that's where dad hit his head. Samantha's hurt too, Tommy went to get her. It's weird because before this, dad said something about something bad happening outside.” She handed the paper back to Trent.

As if on cue, Tommy arrived with Samantha's arm on his shoulder, with her hopping on one foot. “Her leg hurts.” he said, as they moved to an empty bed. “I can't move it.” Samantha added, sitting down.

“Oh my god...” Kylie rubbed her eyes. It was all happening so quickly, but she needed to stay focused and not let sentimentality control her. “Tommy, could you help prop her leg up? There's some attachments in the bottom left drawer that go onto the ceiling...yes those, now there should be a sling in there somewhere too. If not, then it's in this room somewhere.”

Tommy couldn't find a sling but he set to work on the hooks, standing on Samantha's bed and reaching up to the ceiling where another pair of hooks could be seen. He couldn't reach them, but instead had to jump up to properly attach the harness. Just then, Shirley came running into the room again. “We need help getting some stuff down.” she said.

“Tommy, go help them out.” Kylie said, and Tommy jumped off the bed ran off. “Elizabeth, could you help your sister out please? Her right leg needs to be propped up.”

Elizabeth waved to her mute brother before walking over to Samantha's bed. “I didn't know you got hurt.” she frowned. “I would have helped you.”

“I hit my leg wrong.” Samantha said. “Now I can't move it.”

“It is probably a broken leg.” Xavier murmured as he continued to help wrap bandages around his father's head.

“There's a sling somewhere in this room.” said Kylie, walking to the sink. “Check the other drawers because Tommy didn't find it with the harness. It's somewhere in here.”

Tommy ran back into the room. “Hey mom, we found some weird stuff and we don't know what to do with it.”

“Okay, I'll take a look.” Kylie responded. “Xavier, make sure that dad gets some water. There's cups next to the sink. Has the bleeding slowed down?” 

“A little.” said Xavier.

“There's pads in one of the drawers that will help.” said Kylie. “The important thing is to apply pressure. Try to slow it down as much as you can.” She turned to go. “Elizabeth, see that medicine cabinet? There's a bottle in there called Indextrin. Give her one pill. Only one pill, okay?” With that, Kylie swiftly walked out of the room and immediately saw the mess in the hallway of piled goods. But before addressing that, she darted to a console and flipped to the current status, which showed that the castle had descended by about 4,000 feet the last she checked. Kylie knew that she was going to need to head up to the cockpit soon and try to fly this beast. She just wished she had more help.

“Hey Iggy, are you busy?” Kylie thought. “Ludwig needs help.”

“...I am, a little bit.” Iggy responded, staking one crate on top of another in half darkness. But he saw the situation and knew no one else was going to help them. “Penny, I'll be back.”

“Mmmhmm.” came her reply, already knowing. With a flash, Iggy teleported himself into Ludwig's Castle emergency room, where he found himself surrounded by Kylie's startled children.

“Uh...who are you?” Xavier managed to ask.

“Uncle Iggy.” Iggy responded. “Your mom sent me. Looks like your dad suffered a bad hit.” He took out his Spirit Wand and prepared a spell.

“...yeah, he hit his head.” Xavier explained. “He hasn't woken up yet and the bleeding hasn't stopped either.” A soft white glow surrounded Ludwig's body, prompting Xavier to jump back in surprise. The bleeding slowed until it stopped completely, but Ludwig did not stir.

“What was that?” Xavier asked.

“White spectrum magic.” Iggy said, then he hummed. He cast a short scan on Ludwig's body then sighed. “Well, this sucks.”

“Can you fix him?” a voice asked. Iggy's eyes darted to Trent who was looking intently at him.

“Not at the moment. He's in a coma.” Iggy said aloud, with Trent looking rather surprised. “That means he could wake up in 15 minutes or in 15 years. He's trapped in his own mind.” It was Penny's case all over again, but this time Erzembar couldn't be used to awaken him.

“Larry!” Iggy thought towards his younger brother. “Ludwig is incapacitated.”

Larry finished relaying a transmission on his radio inside a lower level of Genlic, surrounded by people. “I saw him get knocked out. How bad is it?”

“Its a coma.”

“Well fuck me.” Larry saw Kylie running around the level helping out her children with supplies. That was not good news, considering Roy's struggle with Narec at the moment. There was very little help that Kylie could get.

“Yeah, Roy's in a battle with Narec right now, so he won't be able to help especially where it's going.” said Iggy, seeing Larry's thoughts. “What do you want to do?”

“...alright. Xavier's the man of the castle until Ludwig wakes up.” said Larry. “That's unless Roy decides to stop by. Tell Kylie that Xavier needs to look after his siblings so that she can pilot that thing before it crashes and they all die.”

“Did you get that Kylie?” Iggy thought, walking to Samantha.

“Yeah I heard you guys.” Kylie responded, opening a sack. “But Xavier's too young to take the lead.”

“Roy is tied up with Narec right now.” said Larry, waiting for a transmission on his radio. “We're all tied up, so we have to make due with what we have.” He was handed a batch of modified floor plans. “Right now, getting that castle under control is top priority. Leave Xavier to deal with the supplies and Elizabeth with the patients. The castle needs to have its engines activated and start flying again or it must land as soon as possible.”

“You know I can't fly this thing.” Kylie complained. “I only know how to steer it.”

“I'll walk you through it.” said Larry. “I've flown it before.”

“Yeah, this place needs to be stabilized or it'll be a catastrophe waiting to happen.” Iggy echoed, healing Samantha's leg. “I got to go.”

Kylie threw her arms up in defeat. “Alright, whatever you say.” she thought, knowing that Larry had the last word. “Xavier!” she shouted, and the youth came running out. “I'm leaving you in charge of the supplies. Make sure these get moved to the disaster room over there.” Kylie pointed to a pair of double doors not far from the emergency room. “Have the others help you. When you're done, bring everybody in there and strap yourselves into the seats.” The doors opened to a circular room and Kylie pointed to the seats that were etched into its perimeter. “This is an escape pod. If anything happens to the castle, you can use this thing to survive. It will launch itself from the castle if we're in any immediate danger. The lever for that is right there.” Kylie pointed to a red lever next to one of the seats. “If it tells you to force eject, then do it. I have to go upstairs and try to control this thing, so please do what I say, okay? I don't want any more of you to get hurt.”

“Okay.” Xavier replied. “Hey, one of my uncles suddenly came out of nowhere and healed dad and Sam.”

“That was Uncle Iggy.” said Kylie. “I asked him to help us. We were lucky he had the time to come by and heal them as best he could. But don't take that for granted, because he's busy with his own place and only came cause it was an emergency. He's already gone now.”

“Wait, how do you know this?” Xavier asked. “You weren't even there!”

“One of my abilities.” Kylie said, pointing at her brain. “Your dad will have to be wheeled into this room. He doesn't need the machine to go with him. Let Elizabeth take care of them and have her get them all in here. I think Samantha can walk now.”

“What about Trent?” Xavier asked.

Kylie huffed. “Yeah, he's the oddball. The IV will need to come out of his arm. Have Elizabeth do that, she's watched me do it before. Okay, gotta go.” Kylie hugged her oldest child. “I love you guys. Please take care of each other.”

Xavier nodded, and with that Kylie got up and ran for the elevator. Opening it, she pressed the button for the top level of the castle before the doors closed. She hated the idea of leaving her kids out of her sight, but this was the best place for them to survive. She was going to have to rely on her faith that they would be alright in the end.

* * *

Morton Koopa Jr. watched Ludwig's Castle slowly fall from the sky like a slowly deflating balloon losing its helium. Kylie had earlier teleported inside after seeing Ludwig badly hurt, so she said. But he had little time to dwell on the thought as the noise around him quickly snapped him back to reality. The winds had been gusting for the past 24 hours and the Earth seemed to be moaning, with strange sounds like trumpets filling the sky. And every few minutes the Earth rocked back and forth in a seemingly endless string of earthquakes that made maintaining their shelters a huge challenge. The whole valley was in a riot as many struggled to keep their shelters intact, running to and fro to find materials to use. 

“Some of these people are still using their tents.” said Flutter, having since resigned from Ludwig's command after the bureaucrats attempted their coup d'etat.

“I told them to dig in.” said Morton, raising his voice above the commotion. “Roy told them to dig in. What do they expect? I don't think they're really getting what's going on. This is the end of the world, not a vacation and yet they still think we're going to go home after this is over with. Nope, this is our home now.” After being around the general population lately, Morton was beginning to understand what this denial business was all about.

“They don't want to believe it.” Flutter added.

“It's right in front of them!” Morton cried. “It's like a woman wanting to fuck this guy who says no because he thinks he doesn't deserve it even if she says yes, let alone having anyone else ask him. If these people don't start believing, they're going to die.”

“They probably will die.” Flutter said flatly.

“Well you can't change everyone.” Morton muttered. “You figure that being an example would help. Mine's dug out in the mountain behind us, right at the top. Probably don't have to worry about landslides or any of that. Stocked up and everything. It's funny though cause when I was younger, I wouldn't give a shit about any of this. Just give me my money and I was fine. Give me my cake and I didn't complain. I guess normal people are like that. When you put them to the test and say, 'You know those pioneers that used to explore the old Dark Land? Guess what?' they just falter. It's like they were never taught to help themselves, cause granddaddy Koopa's got it all covered for you. They live like that, but now? They're running all over the place like they're making up for lost time at the last second, before everything goes to shit. What do I think? Too late, you had your chance! Doesn't stop them from trying, but the point is that all the warnings were there before this happened. All the signals were given but ignored. Typical, right? You put it together only when it actually affects you, but even then, who wants to let go of what they got? Who wants to let it all go and live like a fucking barbarian? Yeah, I've been thinking about all this. People don't let go for something worse even if it saves them. That's the problem.”

“Pride kills.” commented Flutter.

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Morton said. “I learned that one pretty quick. I remember the Edmundson Bill that I tried to push through the senate. Those fucking mushrooms were fishing off our coast back then and I thought, let's tax those fuckers for stealing our food, right? Now I was no senator back then but I pushed that shit on KoopTV like it was the best thing to happen to our restaurants. Think about it, no more shitty tariffs for food we owned in the first place just so that those cheap Mushroom assholes could net a small profit. Well that was my idealism and boy did it cover the reality of it. Turns out those fishermen were smuggling in drugs for my dad's administration, who by the the way told me jack shit about it. All I knew was that these politicians started leaving nasty messages, written and you know, those near miss sort of deals. And I found myself in a place where I knew that it wasn't worth going into that shit, especially if dad was in on the black market, so what do you do? I dropped the whole thing, swallowed my pride and said fuck it, I'll get change through somehow, it just wont be this way. Honestly, I'm glad I never ran for senate because--”

“You! This is your fault!” said a Koopa Troopa interrupting him. “All you do is stand there and bitch. You don't help us out at all--”

“We've had our committee meetings you know.” Morton reminded him. “Did you think this was all going to be a piece of cake? Shit happens, you take--”

“Oh you did not just say that!” The Troopa crawled inside his shell and spun in the air towards Morton's head, but Morton easily knocked it aside and it slid down a path next to him.

“Perhaps it is time.” Flutter suggested.

“Yeah. My gut's telling me the same thing.” said Morton, “Time to settle in before these guys try to raid us. Let's go.”

Turning around, Morton headed off into the woods overlooking the valley, trying to maneuver around people's settlements. Considering the latest attack against him, he knew he could not take the main road back to his shelter and would have to approach it by stealth. He wasn't going to end up like Ludwig and he would make sure of that.

Reaching the mountain, Morton jumped up one rocky outcrop to another, only stopping once to see if he was being followed. In the distance, he made out shapes below moving through the trees towards him. They were far enough away that Morton didn't really worry about them, but that made him realize that he wasn't coming out of his shelter again until this was over with...

A strong jolt interrupted his thoughts and Morton tried to maintain his balance on the mountain's steep incline. He waited for it to end, but it did not stop. “Shit.” he muttered, looking up the remaining mountain face. Rocks began to tumble down and Morton decided to wing it. He jumped up the mountain carefully, trying to avoid falling debris. By the time he reached the top, the mountain was still shaking from the earthquake and he could see small landslides occurring throughout the valley. In the distance he saw Ludwig's Castle leveling itself and attempting to gain altitude, but the winds were picking up and he began to doubt its ability to do so.

Flutter flew up to him, having fallen behind earlier. “There is a large group heading this way.” he said. “I don't know what they intend, but...”

“They're gonna swarm us.” Morton muttered, turning towards the gate to his shelter. His guards were gone, having already deserted him. But the gate itself, a large circular concrete door remained intact. As long as that was fine, then they would survive a full invasion from these guys.

“Come on.” Morton said and started towards the gate, but Flutter was frozen in place, looking at the sky in shock. Following his gaze, Morton himself froze at what he witnessed. In the sky the Great Destroyer suddenly loomed larger than the sun, drawing itself closer with each passing second until it filled their whole view. Brilliant lightnings shot out from its corpus towards their atmosphere and loud explosions filled the air, drowning out all else. Morton Koopa Jr. and Flutter stood in shock, unable to move away from its sheer terror. In the midst of it all, other flashes of light streaked across the sky; meteors descending towards the Earth as the Destroyer's tail lashed against them.

“We need to move.” Flutter managed to say. It was enough for Morton to snap out of his trance and look around him. Farther down the partially ruined road to his shelter were a group of people caught up by the same sight. One saw Morton at the top and ran towards him, with some following with sloppy footsteps due to the still shaking Earth. This gave Morton the impetus to run towards he gate with Flutter shortly catching up to him. Reaching it, he looked back in time to see the road slip downwards in an apparent landslide, forcing the group to divert themselves in every direction.

Flutter flew past him into the mountain. “Close the gate!” he said as he flew down the dimly lit hallway.

“I know what I'm doing!” Morton shouted back as he took hold of the handles on the gate's interior. But before he pulled it, he saw in his disbelief his own shadow move across the ground. Forced to look to the sky again, Morton witnessed the sun wheel across the sky and felt a great wind suddenly come up and thrash about, which nearly knocked him over.

“Holy shit...shit...fucking close...” He pulled on the heavy door through the onslaught until the wind itself quickly slammed the gate shut, knocking Morton backwards onto the floor. Wasting no time, he got up and locked the gate with a metal bar, then frantically ran into his shelter, nearly losing his step several times from the shaking Earth. Debris fell from above and one large stone hit Morton in the head, sending him into darkness.


	45. The End

All across the Bambesh Valley there was mass belligerent chaos as if the artists own brush disliked its creation. Through the mass noise, swirling skies and rippling brown Earth little could be made out for what it was, all essentially turning into a shifting sandbox. Below them the lands shifted and swirled and Xavier grew afraid, not expecting such a scale of destruction. Indeed, his father warned of a catastrophe but he never imagined it like this. 

“Come on, get dad in here!” he ordered, growing impatient with his siblings. Elizabeth and Tommy were seen trying to roll Ludwig's bed out of the emergency room with Shirley pushing Trent's bed behind them. Ludwig's bed made it out into the corridor when the castle shook violently and tilted itself at an angle, throwing most of them off their feet. Trent's bed slammed into the door frame, but Ludwig's bed wasn't so lucky and began to skid down the hall towards the supply room.

“Get him!” Xavier said, and Tommy quickly got up and stopped the bed from rolling further. Elizabeth ran over and pulled the bed upwards and with Tommy's help they managed to roll it into the escape pod. Moments later, another jolt sent it flying towards the other end of the pod and the bed smashed into the wall.

“I guess that's good enough.” muttered Xavier, trying to figure out how to secure the bed in the pod. But everyone else's attention were on the sounds of metal that ripped through the hull. Elizabeth saw a large chunk of metal fly off the castle through one of the windows.

“Tommy, you need to get the others.” Elizabeth said, eying Shirley and Trent across the hall. “I'll help Shirley out.”

“Is it falling apart?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah I saw something fly off...” she said, her voice trailing off. Tommy ran out of the room at that, down the hall towards the supply room. He found Samantha gathering up her next load to the pod and Amy still bringing out supplies. “We need to head to the escape pod now.” said Tommy. “Do we have enough for everybody?”

“Yes, everyone has a pack.” said Samantha. “I'm bringing extra food up now.”

“Okay, let's all bring up one more pack then.” said Tommy. “I don't know what's what.”

“That's food.” Samantha pointed and Tommy picked up one of the food packs. “Hey Amy!”

“I heard you! I'll be there in a sec.” said Amy. Tommy looked inside the room and saw her struggling with something on one of the shelves. Thinking twice, Tommy dropped the pack and went to help Amy instead.

“I got it!” Samantha called, managing to drag both packs upwards to the escape pod. She saw Elizabeth and Shirley try to push Trent's bed across the hallway, having to adjust to the tilt of the floor with Shirley pulling upwards. Eventually they managed to get Trent through the doorway and into the escape pod. Samantha followed behind them, and placed the packs inside a storage bay located underneath the floor in the center of the pod. It was beginning to get full.

Suddenly, a loud metallic noise was heard drowning out the others, immediately followed by sirens and red lights. Across the hall they saw the medical bay door close by itself. The castle had begun to free fall through the atmosphere and the spinning ground was starting to approach them.

“That's not good.” Xavier muttered.

“Where's the other two?” Elizabeth asked. Samantha looked out into the hall, but they weren't there. Elizabeth ran past her and down the hall, nearly sliding down it in the process. She saw that all the doors had suddenly closed and the hall was filled with spinning red lights. Reaching the last door, she found Tommy banging on the other side, unable to get out.

“Hey!” came Tommy's muffled cry and he appeared in the door window. He pointed to his right, towards a control pad on the wall near the door. Reaching up on her toes, Elizabeth tried pushing the button to open the door. Instead, the screen flashed red with the words “Automatic override.” “Override?” she said to herself.

“Override?” Tommy's voice echoed. The hull began to buckle, loud noises again flowing through the frame. The back wall next to Elizabeth started to cave in like a soda can.

“...go! Go!” she heard Tommy say, pointing back up to the pod. But Elizabeth couldn't move her feet. Her heart wouldn't let her.

“But...” she started. “You might...”

“Go!” Tommy repeated. “You can't open it. Save yourself. Go!”

Elizabeth slowly started to back away, until the back wall suddenly ripped open and she was forced to grab a post on the side wall as much of the supplies in the hallway were sucked towards it. A hand grabbed her shoulder: it was Samantha's and she slowly pulled her sister up back up towards the escape pod, where they found their other siblings strapped into their seats, including Trent.

“Where are the others?” Xavier asked, but Elizabeth shook her head, with tears forming in her eyes. Xavier looked away, now not so sure of himself.

Tommy looked back towards the room, now greatly depleted of its former stock. Amy simply watched him, too much in shock to move. Looking towards the corner, Tommy noted a pile of backpacks and walked over to them, examining one. 

“We're going to die, aren't we?” Amy couldn't help but ask. Tommy said nothing, instead opening a backpack and finding a large piece of cloth inside. He swore he had seen something like this before. He pulled it out and spread it around the floor. “I saw this in a book.” Tommy said. “People use it when they're falling from the sky and it makes them float to the ground. I don't remember what its called though.”

“A parachute?” Amy offered. “I think dad talked about these in our safety class. Weren't you listening?”

“I didn't remember what it was called.” Tommy said. “But I remember that class now. We can use these to float to the ground if one of these walls go.” The walls around them were beginning to groan and creak.

“Why can't we use one of the vents instead?” Amy asked, pointing to the air vents above. Tommy looked, but found crinkles in the vents near the door. “Won't work.” he replied. “All the metal is bending. We could be crushed that way.” He took a pack and gave it to Amy. “Here, put it on.”

Amy reluctantly took the parachute as Tommy put one on himself, trying to figure out how to adjust the straps. One of the walls caved inwards with a bang, followed by several other notches in the framework. Figuring it out. Tommy tightened his straps, but Amy looked hesitant. “You want us to fall through the air?”

“There's no other choice.” said Tommy, adjusting her straps. “When you're near the ground...”

“I know, pull this.” Amy said, fingering a buckle on her shoulder. “But...I don't like this. I don't like any of it.” She suddenly embraced her brother. “I want it to stop.”

“Me too.” said Tommy. The windows began to crack.

“Where's mommy?” Amy asked

“She's at the bridge.” Tommy replied.

“Oh. Can we stay like this as we fall?” Amy asked. 

“Our cords would tangle.” said Tommy. “That would be bad. We need to separate in the air.”

“But I don't want to.” Amy resisted.

“Then we would both die.” Tommy said. “Our parachutes can't tangle. That's what dad said.”

A part of the back wall came loose and shattered outward, sending up a gust of air into the room. “Hang onto something!” said Tommy, pulling away from Amy and taking hold of one of the shelf berms that was bolted into the wall. Amy hesitated, then grabbed hold of another shelf berm on the other side of the room. Moments later, the entire wall ripped away and hurricane force winds rocketed through the cavity, blasting away the remaining supplies into the sky. Tommy and Amy hung on for dear life as other parts of the ship began to implode, with metal and debris seen flying into the distance. On board the escape pod, Xavier grew nervous after seeing parts of the ship blow away. He had long closed the door to the pod and everyone had strapped themselves in. But he was still nervous and unsure of himself.

“I think we should launch.” he suggested. Elizabeth said nothing and looked down. Trent looked at him but could not say anything, being mute. The pod rattled and a section of the room next door was seen blowing away.

“Go.” said Samantha, and after a moment Xavier pulled the lever down. After a pressure release, the escape pod detached from the main hull and the Koopalings were sent tumbling through the air towards the chaos below. Tommy saw them fly off and tumble through the skies, but a loud scream snapped him back to reality. Amy had lost her grip and was falling through the air.

“Amy!” Tommy intentionally let go and flew after her, trying to navigate towards his sister who was chaotically twisting about.

“Where am I?” Amy cried, with everything too blurry to make out. Tommy tried to get closer, but she was well below him and falling fast. Suddenly, her backpack opened and her parachute deployed.

“No, it's too soon for that!” Tommy screamed, but Amy didn't seem to hear him. Amy hung on to her lines with a death grip as the winds kicked her upwards and started to blow her towards the south. “Amy!” In a desperate attempt to catch up with her, Tommy let loose his parachute as well and the wind took him on a swift course behind Amy. Below them, the mountains melted and great fires erupted from the Koopa Crags in their turmoil. The sun was broken from the sky and spun across like a potters wheel: all of reality seemed to be broken. 

Suddenly, a sharp metallic object flew straight through Amy's parachute tearing open a large hole, and she screamed as she again plunged through the sky towards the chaos below. 

“Amy!” Tommy cried, unable to do anything but watch as her sister plummeted towards the ground. The hurricane force winds hardly gave him the time to think as they sent him past Amy above a large swath of land over the waters of the open sea. The falling castle behind him became smaller until it was gone from sight.

Meanwhile, a blinking light on the dash caught Kylie's eye, notifying her that the escape pod had been launched. She quickly said a small prayer in her mind before she was forced to return to reality in front of her.

“Okay, so how do I land this thing?” Kylie asked Larry in her mind who had been guiding her. But Larry was occupied, seemingly talking to someone on his radio. It seemed it was every Koopa for himself now.

She pulled up the steering wheel to herself as she tried to adjust her pitch, but the weather outside was not cooperating with her. The castle continued to lean to the side as it descended towards the ground and Kylie knew she was going to have to bail.

Getting up, Kylie looked around the bridge for any sort of emergency exits that she could use. Finding a narrow door in the corner, Kylie slid it aside and found a small room inside with basic supplies and a few seats bolted into the walls. Above her was a porthole that led to somewhere unknown. Closing the door, she sat on the seat but did not have much time to think as a severe wobble hit the castle then: it had smashed into the ground and Kylie was quickly thrown from her seat, hitting the wall in front of her before losing consciousness.

* * *

“Could you please get our stuff up there?” Mona asked, not wanting to be away from the colonists.

“Alright.” said Larry, deciding to go with Mona's plan. He didn't like the idea, but that was his paranoia talking to him. Taking his wand, Larry teleported to his bedroom and thought about what to bring down with him. He did have a bag for himself in the event that he needed to leave Genlic and he thought about taking that down with him. Remembering that he still needed a few more things, Larry took Mona's bag in the corner and teleported back before placing it next to her.

“That's it?” Mona asked.

“Well, it's your bag.” said Larry. “Pull the engage lever to your right.” he thought to Kylie simultaneously.

“I mean, there's nothing for you?” Mona clarified.

“Adjust your pitch and yaw with the red and orange buttons above you.” Larry thought. “No, I have a bag upstairs. I need to add some more things to it, so I'll be a little while.” he said to Mona.

“Okay.” said Mona. “It's always at the last second you know.”

“That's how it works.” Larry replied. 

“How do you control the landing gear?” asked Kylie before Larry teleported back into his room.

“That I never tried.” Larry thought as he grabbed his journal. “But there's a manual lever to the right. It's probably an automatic thing too, but I haven't tried that either.” He put the journal in his bag along with some smaller items from his makeshift kitchen, including some utensils. Larry reached for some medical supplies just as the rumblings suddenly increased with intensity. Getting up, he looked at the stars above and noted the blood red moon shifting in place. That was new.

“Code 1...” Larry relayed into his radio. “Moon is moving in place. Quakes are still rolling. Get your shit together. Repeat, get your shit together.”

Genlic shook violently then and Larry struggled to stay on his feet.

“Roger that King Pin, we're moving bogeys to the shelters now.” came the response. 

“Do we have the food secured?” came another. The radio went ballistic after the call and Larry payed no attention to it as he tried to remain on his feet. He locked his journal and a few other items in his safe and walked to the other end of the room with his bag in tow, but stopped abruptly to look at the sky. The stars began to move on their own across the sky and the wind suddenly picked up with intensity. 

“Code 1 Now!!!” he shouted into his radio before putting it away. A blast of wind blew throughout his room and Larry fought against it, now knowing it was time. All at once, he saw the minds of his family suddenly become panicked and chaotic as the Earth's crust spun upon its mantle, unleashing a voracity of destruction for all life on the surface. A roaring noise interrupted his thoughts and he snapped back to reality. Looking outside, he saw towards the sea an enormous wave rolling towards Genlic, its height far greater than he had imagined. In the distance, Larry saw it devour an entire island as it crawled over its mountains as if they were nothing. He shook his head; they were going to be engulfed.

Taking out the Blood Wand, Larry tried to cast a teleportation spell, but surprisingly found that he could not concentrate well enough to do so. The shaking Earth, the blasts of wind, the roaring seas and the chaos in his family's thoughts didn't let him concentrate well enoughand he found his arms shaking out of tension from the moment. Only able to rely on his impulse, he ran down the hallway.

The towering wave quickly approached him and its shadow crept across the floor. Larry stopped and couldn't help but look as it climbed nearly as high as Genlic itself. Larry tried his teleport spell again but it was no use, his nerves were on overdrive and his mind was elsewhere. He saw Mona huddling people together in the rooms they long ago assigned for the pole shift and surrounded by many helpers. She was more useful than he was.

The tsunami slammed into Genlic and Larry stumbled on his feet as a large gush of water flowed into his bedroom behind him. He started to run again down the hall, hoping to reach the elevator before it got worse. But the water was swift and it caught up from behind and swept him off his feet. The wave rushed through the hall and Larry nearly lost his wand in the process, slipping out of his hand for a moment before he grabbed it again. He was now helpless against the tide and wondered what to do now. Genlic had nothing easy to grab on to. Its floors and walls were slippery like glass and his claws could not hold on to anything.

The water approached the elevator shaft. Getting an idea, Larry pointed his wand back towards his room with a simple intent. The pillars of the room expanded outward and closed off the balcony to the outside. It seemed he had enough concentration to perform simple tasks with the wand. But looking ahead, he saw even more water rushing through the balconies next to the shaft with water now running down it; the elevator was not there, probably floors below. Pointing his wand again, the balconies shut and the waters recoiled against the wall, tossing Larry along with them. He frantically swam towards the left as the waters found their course towards the shaft again. However, the water was moving too fast and he tried to turn, but instead slammed against the forward wall. 

Wincing at the pain, Larry tried to swim away but the current drew him towards the shaft and there seemed to be no escape now. On a whim, Larry used the wand and activated the elevator lift in an attempt to cushion his landing. Far below, the elevator began to move upwards, displacing a layer of water that had accumulated on top of it. But Larry didn't see this as he was too focused on not falling into the shaft. He managed to stand on his legs just before the drop and tried to hold onto a wall next to him, but it was slippery and he had a hard time getting a grip. Larry slowly managed to walk away from the shaft opening, trying to escape the current but debris from up the hall started to flow past him, much of which he recognized as being from his room. Something slammed into his legs and he was thrown backwards into the water which took him into the shaft. Freefalling through the air, he saw a light growing outside until the sun itself could be seen rising in the east. Funny that the new age had come so quickly, but it looked like he wasn't going to enjoy it with them. His past deeds had caught up with him.

“Sorry guys.” he muttered. “I wasn't good enough.” The elevator rapidly approached and Larry tried to cushion his fall using his wand, but upon meeting it he knew no more.

* * *

Duke Koopa felt worried. His mother would not stop crying as she held the now lifeless Kristin in her arms and she wouldn't respond to any of their questions. The floor wouldn't stop shaking and debris began to fall from the ceiling.

“Where's Wendy?” Beth asked. 

“I don't know.” Duke replied, looking towards the eastern entrance. 

“Maybe we should find them ourselves.” Stevie suggested.

“But what about mom?” Beth asked.

“One of us could stay with her.” said Stevie.

“No! As long as Vincent is still out there, you three aren't going anywhere!” Diadora shouted before sobbing again. Wendy O. Koopa happened to walk in a moment later with a bundle of small coats and blankets, overhearing what she said.

“I didn't see him anywhere.” Wendy claimed, putting the pile onto the ground. “But he's probably fine.”

“I hope he goes to hell.” Diadora said between sobs. Stevie pulled out a coat from the pile and the others followed. 

“Your children don't deserve to die.” Wendy said.

“Kristin's dead.” said Diadora. “He deserves the same.”

Wendy said nothing and instead sat upon the throne behind her. The kids were already trying to put their coats on.

“We should find someplace warmer.” Duke suggested. 

“Not with Vincent out there.” Diadora reiterated. “Not until your dad comes back.”

“Dad?” Stevie wondered who that was...that guy from earlier? 

“You know he got turned into a dry bones, right?” Wendy stated as a matter of fact.

“You lie.” retorted Diadora.

“Psh, that's what happened. You don't have to believe it.” Wendy said. “He's not coming back for a while.”

“Oh he'll be back, and we'll be out of here.” said Diadora.

“Where are you going to run? The pole shift is all around you now.” Wendy pointed out. 

Duke motioned to his sisters that they should leave and they both nodded.

“Let's at least find a warmer spot.” said Wendy. The children began to move towards the exit.

“Don't tell me what to do!” Diadora said, putting Kristin's body on the ground. “You guys! Get over here!” In truth, the children were growing afraid of their mother and their own instincts were growing louder than her own voice.

“Let them find someplace warmer.” Wendy said, liking the idea herself now. “There's plenty of lava flows inside the walls. We just need to find one that's open.” Stevie wasn't listening to their argument, and instead was looking at a window outside the room across the hall. Something caught her attention, and she ran out of the throne room to look through it.

“Stevie, get back over here!” Diadora demanded, finally getting up. But Stevie didn't listen and looked outside. At that moment, a large jolt shook the castle and many stumbled to the ground, including Stevie. Looking up at the window, she saw the day suddenly grow dark and heard the wind slam the castle walls. The next scene made her get up and see if she was seeing things, but she wasn't.

“Hey mom, this huge wall of white is headed this way!” Stevie yelled. “It's coming from--” But she never finished as ice suddenly spread through the walls where she stood, freezing everything in its path.

“Run!” Duke cried and pushed Beth in front of him down the Eastern wing. But the ice traveled so quickly that there was only a few moments before it overcame them and they both fell to the ground. 

Outside, the entire Koopa Valley became flash frozen as the tectonic plate upon which it was housed quickly moved under the arctic air mass freezing everything in its path.

* * *

There was panic everywhere. Everywhere...there was people to relate with, and yet you were alone. Trapped inside of your own mind, yet knowing the thoughts of others. You think you know everything, but without that heartfelt connection with those special people, you really know nothing. It was a paradox, a harmonious paradox, yet also a sacrifice of a life that Iggy had jumped into since being resurrected. Being an observer and a teacher, and yet you were still Koopa. 

The sand shifted around his feet, and Iggy remembered that there was sand around his feet. Looking up knowing what there was to see, he saw it swiftly come closer and tilted his head at the oncoming nemesis, which grew tenfold until it was larger than the sun. The doomshape spread it's fiery wings across the sky in a thunderous appearance filled with horns and trumpets announcing that the time had come. 

“Hello.” Iggy merely said to an old friend. 

In response, the fiery corpus unleashed a barrage of lightnings across the sky, sending booming echoes across the desert. People who had remained outside now rushed inside the Temple of the Hammer now knowing the time had come.

“Iggy, I think it's about to happen.” Penny relayed via telepathy, who was standing inside the entrance to the complex. But Iggy, while hearing Penny's voice could not bring himself to respond inside of his neural chaos he inevitably witnessed. Iggy almost didn't see his shadow move until it became clear that the sun was accelerating towards the horizon.

“Go in.” he thought, without looking at her. Penny looked worried, he was clearly experiencing mental overload and wasn't thinking clearly. But Iggy's hand made a motion to her, suggesting otherwise. “I need to see this.”

“And if you don't...well.” Penny remembered that there were ways to heal other people with the wand, even cheat death. But she didn't know them herself, having only recently started to get into the magical disciplines, being more inclined towards science. Judging by what original thoughts she could see of Iggy, it was clear that he wanted to do a few more things. “Fine, but it's your life you know.”

“I know.” came his reply, and after a moment Penny entered the complex, closing the door behind her.

For Iggy, this was too exhilarating to miss by hiding away, though his younger self disapproved as always. The winds suddenly picked up and Iggy fought against them as he procured the Spirit Wand from his being. He pointed it at the Temple of Erzembar and all its door and windows shut simultaneously. The winds increased to hurricane force and Iggy decided that he needed to be closer to the complex. He cast a spell of teleportation, but it did not manifest.

“Huh?” He knew his concentration had been screwed for a while, but the spell went through this time and should have worked. Iggy cast it again and there was a flash, but nothing else occurred. Perhaps the crust dislodging from the mantle directly affected the interplanetary magic field? Or perhaps Naru was to blame? If either were true...

“Oh crap.” Iggy bolted towards the Temple of the Hammer, now realizing that the magic field was temporarily compromised. The sands shifted all around him like a rolling sandbox and he used his jumping ability to stay in the air as long as he could, even though the wind was starting to misplace his footing. There was a great noise of trumpets, and in the distance the Temple of Erzembar could be seen being buried by the sands, presumably the Kermillion fault taking it under. That was not a good sign.

Reaching the temple, Iggy jumped up the first step before turning around after hearing a different noise altogether. In the distance came a massive tsunami hundreds of feet high, rolling across the desert as little stood in its path. Iggy sighed deeply. “Not again.” he muttered. He didn't want to go out that way again. Turning back around, Iggy started jumping up the steps of the pyramid wondering of there was any other way to enter the temple save for the entrance down below. “Tsunami incoming in 3!” he relayed to Penny as he jumped up another level of stones.

“Iggy! That's the only entrance!” Penny said, but Iggy knew that he had yet to explore the upper levels of the temple. Surely there was a window somewhere up there? As he jumped, he thought he saw a narrow window situated just below the capstone of the temple. Iggy jumped up towards it, but the wave loomed closer as it now towered above him. Nearly reaching it, Iggy used the wands power and cast a glowing barrier around himself moments before the wave slammed into the pyramid. With the waters swirling around him, Iggy finally climbed to the level of the window. But his shield began to dissipate as the stored native energy exhausted itself. With no natural field to replenish itself, the shield suddenly cracked and the wave immediately took Iggy and with enormous force he was thrown through the window with a cry. He slammed against the back wall of the room before falling onto a stone seat below in a wet mess. But as he sat up, he saw his vision go strangely blurry and wondered what was happening. He was never give the time to think as he suddenly saw himself floating upwards to the top of the room with his body slumped on the seat.

“No no no no no! Stop it!” he cried. “That's not what I want! I don't want to die again! Stop it!!!” He didn't know what the hell just happened, but he saw himself floating out of the temple complex and into turbulent skies until the desert fell away below him. Escaping the cloud layers, he saw the whole Earth revolving about itself, the plates moving in different directions and the oceans sloshing about in reaction as mountains rumbled and other lands fell into the sea. It was as if God had spun the globe in his merriment, or perhaps all those below were to suffer his wrath.

Iggy's vision refocused after he heard a number of voices rise in frequency. He saw a number of dots floating upward along with him but more and more came into view and he guessed there were thousands, but soon it appeared to be millions. They quickly filled all the space around the planet and the time space was filled with their pleas and thoughts. Many pleaded to Iggy, who could not count the number calling his name. There were too many of them.

“Nothing's perfect in 3 dimensional manifestation, and yet it is.” Iggy commented. “Your guides will help you with the rest.” This quieted them somewhat as the spirit guides from the Galactic Federation reviewed their previous lives, but Iggy knew that this life would take much healing for many to get over. He wondered if he would be able to reincarnate in his current state, and still wondered what made him die the way he did. After some time, Iggy noticed that spirits began to disappear one by one but he didn't see most of them return to Earth. Iggy wondered if they were being transported to that new planet the Kappur had mentioned. 

“Paradus? Paradus?” came a voice, and Iggy turned to find a spirit he hadn't seen in ages.

* * *

“Ok, I'll be right there!” Lemmy said into his radio before stepping out onto the icy front porch of his shelter, Beneth's Castle. As he thought, he had left his glass of fruit punch on the deck when he got distracted by the exercise group. You can never ignore the exercise group, because they were just as persistent with their mouths as they were with their thighs, exactly the reason why Lemmy liked looking at some of them.

He took his fruit punch and tipped it over: it was already frozen. He was going to have to go back to the kitchen and squeeze himself a new one. He almost missed those boxed fruit punches he used to have all the time, but only out of laziness. 

Something in the distance caught Lemmy's eye then. The sun on the eastern horizon suddenly started to move backwards from where it came along with the Destroyer which followed it.

“Um, I don't think that's supposed to happen.” Lemmy said to himself before taking his radio out again. “Hey guys, the sun is moving backwaaaaaaaaaaa--” A sudden gust of wind sent the lightweight flying backwards into the dining room and tossed him over a chair. Furniture and debris flew everywhere and Lemmy slowly got up, trying to avoid being hit by the sudden rout of chaos. “...wards...words! Guys, it's here! Go hide! Go...woah.” He cut off the transmission once he saw the ice outside cracking in a million different directions and the noise sounded like the entire ground was coming apart. He couldn't help himself but watch as the ice converged upon each other with many slabs of permafrost shooting straight into the air. But the wind brought him back to reality and realized what was going on again.

“Lemmy, we're set up down here!” came a voice on his radio and Lemmy took off at that, out of the dining room and down the hallway. Through the windows he ran past, a massive river of broken ice could be seen moving around the hill of the castle and slowly gaining in height. Jumping up a large set of stone steps, Lemmy ran down another hall until he arrived at one of the castle's safe rooms, already crowded with people.

“Close the windows!” Lemmy commanded and people got up to close a number of windows around the room and sealing them with barricades. The rest all huddled together in the center of the room, waiting for the pole shift to pass.

Outside, the ice piles were seen moving all around the castle surrounded by a multitude of noises that deafened everything else. Eventually, the flowing chunks of ice engulfed the entirety of the castle until it could no longer be seen.

* * *

The oceans were in turmoil, the clouds were gray with worry and the winds were beginning to pick up with intensity. He stood looking over those chaotic waters wondering what was the point to be in a world about to end. He had no mission now, or did he? While it wasn't the void that ended everything, he still got what he wanted: the end of the world as he knew it. But he wasn't entirely satisfied.

“Cause you're missing something.” came a voice from inside him.

“I'm not missing anything!” Mr. L said aloud, his voice drowned out by the noise around him. “Everything that I've wanted is right here: the destruction of the world!” But in the noise was something that tugged at him, more than the weaker voice that continued to annoy him. It felt like a voice calling out for him, a voice he couldn't hear.

“You don't listen to yourself.” said the weaker voice. “That's why you always fail.”

“I did not fail, loser plumber.” Mr. L retorted. “I saved the woman you could never save.”

“And where is she now?” the voice asked.

Mr. L suddenly realized that he had left Daisy behind in his madness. Turning back, he looked towards the mountains in the distance and tried to retrace his steps with his eyes but found he had ran far past Daisy's Castle and towards the sea, and his steps were longer than he imagined. 

“You wanted the world to be destroyed? That means everyone must be killed with it.” said the voice. “Including you.”

“No! I will live on with Daisy beyond the veil.” Mr. L claimed, though he could not see his beloved anywhere in sight.

“Then why don't you go and find her?” the voice suggested. “Or are you too selfish to do that?”

“Shut up! You were too weak to even try!” Mr. L yelled to himself.

“I could say the same about you.” the voice said.

“Arrrgggg!” Mr. L ran away from the cliff back inland, running up a hill into the forest where he had been through initially. The Earth shook as he went and land started to slip in places, making his route back more of an obstacle course. He saw Daisy's Castle in the distance and wondered how he couldn't remember running past it before. Was he really losing his mind? Was the world ending too much for him? Was the voice...no! He defeated him for a reason! He was the weaker one!

But his mental debate blurred his focus and he didn't see a tree falling in front of him. He ended up running right into it, bonking his head and he fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

“Luigi!!!”

Daisy frantically ran through the forest, the rocks and branches already having torn up much of her dress. Luigi...er, Mr. L had not come back and with the Earth shaking all around her she knew that he was up to no good. If this was the real Luigi, he was probably stuck somewhere, but Mr. L? The way he ran off talking to himself wasn't a good sign to begin with, but she would be damned if she were to die without seeing him one more time.

The last she saw of him, he had ran down the mountains towards her castle so she headed that way, hoping he hadn't gone very far. When she arrived, he found the castle now looked very much dilapidated from when she last saw it when she was dragged there by Waluigi. The quakes had done a number on the towers and the front entrance was blocked by stone rubble. Somehow she doubted that Luigi would hide in there. 

Daisy kept going, wondering if Luigi would head towards the orchards that lay not far from the sea. She entered a forest which was now filled with many toppled trees and she darted left and right trying to find a path through them. Eventually she came across a man lying on the ground in a bloody heap and she rushed over to him. “Luigi!” she cried, but it was not him. It was one of those humans that Waluigi had sent over, now nothing more than a corpse. Inhaling, Daisy continued on towards her orchards thinking them the next best place to find him. 

She heard the sound of the ocean in the distance and knew that she was getting close. To her left, Daisy saw something lying next to a fallen tree, dressed in black with green highlights. A moment of horror took her then and she stopped, unable to move as she feared the worst. “Luigi?” she called, hoping there was a response, but none came. With will power, she finally moved toward him and saw that it was indeed him. He had a large bruise on his head but no blood was seen around him and to Daisy's relief, he was softly breathing.

“Luigi, can you hear me?” Daisy asked. He did not respond, having been knocked out cold. 

Meanwhile, Luigi's mind was under an intense debate with itself.

“Hey, it's Daisy!” the voice said. “If you hadn't knocked into that tree, we could be talking to her!”

“Shut up, it's not my fault a tree decided to block my path.” Mr. L countered.

“You were not focused on what was in front of you.” the voice claimed. “You are too concerned on shutting me out instead. Who's the weak one now?”

“I will destroy you!” Mr. L shouted.

“You can't, because this is the real me.” the voice said. “If you kill me, you kill you.”

“Nonsense! This is my real self.” Mr. L proclaimed.

“You are my evil self. You can never be with Daisy.”

“I already am! With the destruction of everything, I will live with her and rule this destroyed world with her.”

“The destruction of everything? That includes you, my fake self.” said the voice.

“How dare you threaten me! Why can't I destroy you for good?” Mr. L complained.

“Because there's one thing you can never destroy, no matter what you do. And it's one thing you will never have.” alluded the voice.

“Oh, what's that? I have the power, I have the strength to overcome anything!”

“And a tree knocked you out. That says a lot. You were always defeated by Mario--”

“Do not say that name!” Mr. L yelled at himself.

“And you still think you're better than everyone else.” 

“Because I am.” Mr. L said.

“No you're not. You're not the real me. You were created by Count Bleck. You are a product of his imagination.” the voice explained.

“No!”

“You keep denying your real self, me. I never made you. I never wanted you. I want you to leave so I can be with Daisy.”

“You will never have her!”

Daisy meanwhile was completely oblivious to the mental battle taking place in Luigi's mind, but did notice Luigi twisting his head back and forth as if he were experiencing a nightmare. Shaking his arm did nothing and Daisy wondered what to do. Eventually, she looked at his tool belt and noticed a blackened wand of Koopa origin with three gems on its end. It seemed to be pulsating and Daisy realized what was going on, at least she think she did. Slowly taking it out of his belt, she wondered how she could bring him back to normal with it as magic was not her forte. Maybe simple intention could work?

“Luigi, please return to your old self.” Daisy waved the wand then pointed it at Mr. L. Almost immediately he became engulfed in a cloud of black and Daisy stepped back at the sight. “Oh god, what did I do?” she said aloud, thinking she had done something wrong. The black cloud morphed into a cloud of green meshed with lightnings, and from within a low howl was heard akin to a dying animal that forever lowered its pitch. In time it ceased and the cloud flashed, then it compressed upon itself before it disappeared altogether. In its place was Luigi, his clothes now badly weathered and his face beginning to sport a full beard. He did not seem to move.

Daisy ran to him and shook his shoulder again, hoping this time the real Luigi would wake up. At length, Luigi stirred and opened his eyes to find the love of his live staring back at him. “Am I dreaming?” he muttered, not sure if it was real. 

Daisy laughed, but then collapsed on his shoulder as tears long pent up came flowing out. Luigi stared into space in a daze as his old self returned to him. His shadow self had been destroyed in his mind and the battle seemed to finally be over. Love had won out against evil once again. Luigi lay there for a moment deciding to take it all in. But as he did so, he became aware of the Earth shaking under him and the sounds of trumpets filling the air. Looking over Daisy's shoulder, he caught sight of Kamek's wand laying on the ground nearby.

“Did you cure me with that?” Luigi asked. Daisy merely nodded, still crying. “Was it a big cloud of green?” 

“Yes.” Daisy said in between sobs. That was it then. There was no other explanation. It seemed Kamek's vengeance reached even beyond his death. 

Slowly, Luigi forced himself up holding Daisy with him, and she started to pull herself together. Luigi however broke away from her and took Kamek's wand off of the ground and headed straight for the ocean.

“Where are you going?” Daisy asked but Luigi did not answer, jumping down a small landslide. Daisy ran after him, worried what was going on in his mind. Reaching the ledge overlooking the ocean, he angrily tossed the wand into its tumultuous waves which served as a reminder of the chaos now apparent around him.

“That is the last time you hurt me, Kamek.” Luigi said aloud, and it felt like a great weight was lifted from his heart and he felt like a freer spirit. His anxiety lessened and it seemed to Daisy that a great change had come over him. After a moment, Luigi turned around to face her.

“I'm sorry, Daisy.” he said. 

“It's not your fault.” she replied. “There's so many people who hate us.”

“You know...I don't care.” said Luigi. “I don't care. I don't care anymore. Who cares about them? It's just us now. I went through so much just to talk with you again, from killing Kamek, to going through the Mushroom range, to going across the Koopa Kingdom and that was scary, then to making it here and finding that Waluigi had taken the kingdom for himself. Now after my episode with you know who, what can I say? Was it worth it? We might just die in a few hours anyway. Anywhere near here--”

Daisy suddenly embraced him then, shutting him up. “Come on. We've waited long enough. Let's head back to the castle and see what we can salvage.”

Luigi nodded. “And find a new place to hide too.” he added, already rummaging through several ideas in his head. Turning away from the shore, they headed back towards the forest. But they didn't get far when a massive quake struck below them, knocking them from their feet. The clouds above suddenly whipped across the sky in a whirl and the winds battered down upon them. Luigi helped Daisy to her feet but his heart knew that the time was now.

“Don't tell me it's right now?!” Daisy shouted in her disbelief as the forest ahead of them buckled and heaved before them, sending the foliage up into the air and burying it below the ground. The whole of the land seemed to move like the waves of the ocean, and another noise forced Luigi to turn and look behind him. An enormous wave of water was seen coming from the north and headed directly toward the shore. Daisy followed his gaze and stared at it in shock. But Luigi instead held her close.

“That's a game over,” he said. “But listen. I love you. If I had it any other way, we would be in--”

He was cut off with a kiss as Daisy wrapped her arms around him. It was the end, and there were no more time for words. Indeed, there was nothing they could have done at that hour to better prepare themselves given what they've been through. As the land crumpled all around them, they felt a wave of cold air surge through their bodies just before the tsunami hit the shoreline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we are at the end of The Great Destroyer, the 3rd Book. I have been planning on continuing this story with the days following the pole shift and the events of the 2nd generation of Koopalings as they struggle to live in a post apocalyptic world. Let's hope I will still do this.
> 
> This was completed in less than a year which I am very happy with. Comparatively, The Perfect World took 5 years to write and yet this story is longer than that by word count.
> 
> Again, thank you for reading this far! I know this is a long story and many may not have the time to read something as large as this, nor do they want to read something that could be considered very depressing. But to me, this is a reflection of what I see in reality and feel this must be expressed in the Mario-verse.
> 
> Coming up: Book 4!


	46. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy comes home to roost.  
> Penny escapes a watery death only to find her partner lost in death.  
> Mona emerges from the chaos stronger than she ever was.  
> Ludwig awakens to a fundamental choice. Is it really all about him?

Snow fell upon an apocalyptic landscape of broken buildings, twisted stone and littered corpses. Only one figure trudged through the inches already piled up in the otherwise still Koopa Kingdom, now broken and ruined. There were corpses everywhere, many littered on broken roads where they had tried to run from the inevitable flash freeze that overtook the region. In normal days, extra hands would've cleaned up the destruction by this point, but not now. This was the end of the Koopa Kingdom and he knew it. What happened now largely depended upon the survivors and less to do with the monarchs that “ruled” over them. Most had migrated west before the end came, but despite the warnings some stayed in the path of danger, not fully believing what was to come. There were always people like that, including himself at times which reminded him of his destination. He looked up at John's Castle, formerly Bowser's Castle before it was partially destroyed. The top was now covered with crumbling stones, snow and ice; the place was turning into nothing more than a ruin. He already guessed their fates, and had made peace with himself. Whatever the outcome, it didn't matter: he needed to see them for himself. Plus, the castle pantry may yield up some valuable items before he would be forced to hunt for wild meat, if it was still out there.

Deciding it wise to not break the silence, he took the long way into the castle and climbed up a set of broken stone steps towards the castle's second floor. The door inside was gone and instead the path was littered with bricks and other debris. Inside the hall, he saw that all of the windows had shattered and snow was freely blowing into the hallway. The normally black stone walls were iced over, confirming his suspicions. He already knew what to expect. 

Turning right, he headed up an auxiliary stairwell to the next level which was now partially broken. He jumped over the gap, his landing shaking the castle a little too much for his tastes. Nonetheless, nothing seemed to give way and he proceeded through the doorway to the third level. It was the same as the level below: broken windows and iced walls with a layer of snow on the floor. But he stopped walking when he saw the body of a small child lying beneath one window ahead, covered in a layer of ice. He nodded, expecting as much. That was definitely one of them. He expected as much...

At length, his feet moved on their own and he found himself continuing down the hall. They must have huddled in the throne room then. That's what Wendy would've done and why he chose to look there first. Reaching the body, he looked down and stared at the face. It was a girl, wide-eyed and mouth open with a smile. She was about to say something, it looked like. He didn't know her name, but she looked like she would've been a bright and cheerful girl. If he had gotten there earlier...

He shook his head and turned around. The throne room was just ahead to the right. A part of him didn't want to see whatever lay inside, but regretting to look was the bigger punishment and he knew he had no choice. It was only a few steps, but soon he found himself peering into the room and immediately froze in place. Inside, he found Wendy O. Koopa sitting upon the royal throne staring straight at him in death, her body frozen to the stone seat. She may not have been the Queen of the Koopa's, but she did indeed resemble the queen of death. All around her were corpses sprawled across the floor, most seeming to be children. Against the left wall was another adult, sitting with her eyes shut. He looked at her for a long time and wondered, he wondered about a lot of things and what could have been and should have been. But no, that was and this is. His wife, his children and his sister were all dead.

“God, you hate me. I know it.” Roy managed to say, “But come on. This is too much.” He inhaled. “Too much...” He fought back the tears, telling himself long ago that he would never cry, but this was tough. His family was dead, and with it his dream of unifying the Koopa race. The pole shift took everything away from him. What was there to do now? 

A moving stone was then heard and Roy immediately brandished the Earth Wand in defense, thinking that his nemesis, Narec Morello Koopa had returned to the castle. Instead, he saw something fall from the top of the left wall and plummet to the floor. Walking over, Roy saw that it was a bald Koopaling with a red and white shell, the same one he had seen before in his battle with Narec. His face was white and his muscles were visibly shaking, but he was alive. That's all that mattered now. The dream was still alive.

Roy knelt down and helped him up, and the youth stood on his feet and merely looked at him for a moment. Then he cast his gaze around the room and took it all in. Roy was silent as he watched him walk to Diadora and shake her shoulder. “Mom, are you awake?” he asked.

Roy shook his head. “She's not waking up.”

“How do you know?” he replied angrily. Roy walked over and checked her wrist, which was lifeless. “Check the wrist. No pulse, no blood. No life.”

“Who the hell are you?” he finally asked.

“Roy Koopa.” Roy responded flatly. “You?”

“Vincent.” said the boy. “Why are you helping me?”

“I'm your dad, that's why.” Roy responded.

“You?! Then why didn't you come helps us earlier?” Vincent asked, demanding an answer. “We were all tortured by these guys...and mom said you'd come. We could have gotten out of here before whatever just happened if you came earlier.”

Roy sighed. “You don't know the world yet, what it's like. When you see it, you'll know why.”

“And if mom wasn't so crazy, the others could have lived!” Vincent continued.

“Don't speak bad about her.” Roy warned. “She's the reason you're alive.”

“But--” Roy held up his hand and Vincent looked away with an annoyed look. He was too much in shock to cry and could not do anything but stare at it all. 

But in reality, Roy wanted silence as he heard another noise that sounded like someone thumping the floor. “How many of you?” he asked.

“Kristin.” Vincent started, pointing to the Koopaling lying on the floor next to his dead mother. “She died before this happened, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you how.”

Roy said nothing, and instead Vincent continued. “There's...Stevie.” He looked around until he saw her body out in the hallway. “That's her.” he frowned. 

“Saw her.” Roy muttered. “Who else?”

“There's me, then Beth and Duke. I thought I heard someone say run. They must have ran down the hall...” Vincent trailed off as he walked to the eastern entrance and looked down it before entering the hall. Roy followed, now realizing the source of the noise. About 20 feet down the hallway were a pair of bodies, one lying on top of the other. But an arm was seen moving underneath, thumping the floor in an apparent attempt to be free.

“Duke!” Vincent ran to his brother and shook him, but stopped short upon seeing his cold lifeless stare. He stood there in remorse, but Roy moved around him and with his arms managed to push Duke's stiff body aside. Underneath him was Beth, who looked very pale and was nearly frozen solid to the floor. Her mouth was chattering, evidently trying to say something. “I...I'm...c-c-c-c-cold...I...what...happened?” she managed to stutter.

Vincent tried to push her up but the ice around her would not give way. Seeing this, Roy took the Earth Wand and slammed its butt end into the floor. Immediately, the ice all around them shattered and flew into the air momentarily before falling back onto the floor. Seeing the ice now broken around her, Vincent helped her up again but found her leaning against him heavily. “I-I can't f-f-f-f-feel m-m-m-m...” Roy saw that her legs were blackened with severe frostbite.

“Carry her.” said Roy.

“Where are we going?” Vincent asked.

“Nowhere yet.” said Roy. “Need to raid the pantry, get food. Get wands for you two in the magic room. Weapons, knives. Lots of things. Wont get another chance for a long time. Then we...bury them. If not, then the traditional way. Probably the traditional way. Do that last. Smoke leaves a trail, a signal. Tells people we're here. We don't want people bothering us. Let's do the pantry first.”

Beth went wide eyed at that last remark, but could not say anything. She was too cold and too much in shock to try. Vincent himself had a hard time accepting what had happened and it felt like he was living inside a nightmare instead. Nonetheless he knew he had to live regardless, and so Beth jumped onto his shell and they slowly followed Roy down the hall towards the pantry.

In time, the trio had raided the kitchen and took what they could and put them in packs for a journey Roy alluded to. The kitchen otherwise being uneventful, they then headed to the magic room which Roy looked over extensively. It seemed the UmNaru remnant had made a home there directly as several black magic scrolls, black paper with gold lettering were still seen laying about. “How much did they teach you?” Roy asked.

“A bit.” Vincent said. “They taught us slowly. They always wanted to see us do it in action and we...most of us never wanted to do it.”

“Most?” Roy asked.

“Kristin.” Beth said, starting to warm up a bit. “She kept hurting me, cause they told her to.”

Roy looked at her for a moment, then turned and walked to the corner of the magic room where a door was seen sealed with a bar across it. With a magic blast, the door exploded revealing a small dusty room with minimal damage. Within the walls were nooks housing old scrolls of various sizes, and a part of the wall housed another door, this one sealed with a glowing spell. The back of the room held one more door, this one rustic and medieval in design.

Roy looked through the old scrolls for a moment before walking to the magically sealed door. It was a treasure of the old Magikoopas that wasn't allowed to be seen by other eyes, so he and his siblings learned. Roy was always told not to go into this room, but at the end of the world, that didn't matter. The Earth Wand shattered the magic barrier and the doors opened automatically, revealing a shelf space lined with numerous wands around its perimeter. Most had multiple gems on their ends.

“You're each getting one.” said Roy, looking through them. “Oh yeah...” Vincent murmured, remembering something. He took out his dad's wand and handed it to him. “I found this.”

“How'd you get this?” Roy asked.

“I used it to knock Narec out the window.” Vincent explained, looking back towards the duel room.

“And the gem? There's a gem with dis.”

“It blew up when I used a fire spell on it.” said Vincent.

“...alright.” Roy muttered and took the wand before handing Vincent and Beth a pair of Magikoopa wands. “Take these.” They looked like wands that Kamek could carry.

“Never seen this before.” Vincent commented.

“It's for high level Magikoopa's.” Roy explained. “Works for now.” He noticed that the bottom of the shelf opened up, and inside he found a number of ingredients, tools and cut gems stuffed inside pouches. “Nice.” Taking one for himself, he handed several pouches to his kids. “Did they show you how to make your own wands?”

“No.” Beth replied. “They gave us starters.”

“Then I'll show you the basics.” said Roy. “Everyone goes through it, everyone in the family. I'll show you after we leave.” After pocketing many gems including a black one for his own wand, he took with him an old instructional book and closed the door. “We're done here.”

Afterwords, Roy had wandered into the armory to pick out new sets of weapons for himself and his kids, especially for Vincent. Rather uneventful, the solemn moment finally came that none of them looked forward to. It was done quickly and without delay as no one wanted those moments to last. 

In short time, the pair had gathered the corpses and had placed them outside in the back of the castle, within what was formally known as the castle gardens. Now it was a mess of rubble, though the Tomb of Claudia still stood largely undamaged in the background save for its upper frame, which had sustained minor damage. Beth watched the two from the doorway, seated with several blankets around her legs. She watched them look through their clothes, presumably for anything valuable. Roy had taken a few things from Diadora, including her wallet. Eventually Roy stomped the ground with his foot, but found the ground already frozen over with a think layer of ice. They could probably do it that way, but it was extra effort not worth the time.

“We're doing it the ol' fashioned way.” announced Roy.

“What's that?” Vincent asked, but Roy was already making gestures over the bodies. “May the Creator guide them through the afterlife and heal their souls. The eternal flame burns on.” Inhaling, Roy let loose a large swath of flame engulfing his dead loved ones and setting them alight. “The eternal flame burns on.” Roy repeated, making a notion with his hand.

“The eternal flame lives on...” Vincent repeated with a sad expression. Beth was crying and could not repeat the pronouncement. In the noise of the fire, Vincent at length heard her sobs and walked over to embrace her. Roy however, looked behind him to the Tomb of Claudia Koopa, his mother and saw the connection to all of this. “Tragedy still flows, mom.” Roy said to himself, remembering her sudden death many years ago. It seemed to follow him throughout his life. “But like you said, we still got something. This land doesn't, this land is dead. We gotta go. I probably wont see you again...but thanks for believing.” Turning away, he somberly marched past the pile of burning corpses and back to the entrance of the castle.

Vincent had unwrapped Beth's legs and was trying to cast a spell on them with his new wand acquired from the Magikoopa vault. “Red magic.” said Roy. “Learn as much as you can. Builds fires and warms the body.”

“I'm trying to use white magic.” said Vincent.

“How?” Roy asked, curious as no white magic scrolls existed inside the castle.

“Through the ring mom gave me.” said Vincent, briefly showing it.

“The ring of Inauro?” Roy knew what it was, but was unsure how powerful it was. It was better used for more subtle influences rather than direct application, so Diadora told him. “It's not used like that.” he said eventually. 

“Oh.” Vincent muttered. With the Earth Wand, Roy cast a low level red spell and a humid warmth spread through Beth's legs. She tensed at the pain. 

“Gonna hurt for a while.” said Roy. “I'm no doctor, but keep 'em warm and you should be fine. Should get Iggy on dis.” But for the first time, Roy noticed that the mind of his crazy brother was missing.

“Iggy?” Vincent asked.

“Your uncle. One of them.” Roy replied. “He's not here. Not good.” He inhaled. “Alright, we deal with it. Let's get our packs and start heading out. We're going towards the crags over there.” He pointed to one of the ranges to his south. “Used to be the west. South now. We need to leave this place quick, going to get a lot colder. I'll teach you how to start fires, hunt and cook enemies. Will teach you how to rely on yourself.”

The kids said nothing, already having been through a lot. 

“Listen.” said Roy. “I had to burn them. Narec would animate them if I didn't. Animate them into undead. Have to burn everything and prevent that, even the bones. It's the only way.”

“...like you were?” Vincent asked. “Was that you before, when you were just bones?”

“Yeah. That was me. Spell in my wand kept me together. Your granddad did the same, a lot. But mom didn't have a wand like mine. It's a high level spell. They would've been at their mercy. Had to burn them.”

Vincent said nothing.

“Listen! This is important. Don't forget it. Nothing lasts. Nothing you can hold will last. It will fall away, to shadows and dust. Your wand won't last forever. People wont last, they will die. Let it go. Don't hold onto them, don't hold onto anything. Cause its all in your heart already. It'll always be there. No one can touch it unless you let them. Don't hold onto things too long. Let it go...” Roy turned towards the southern range. “Let this place go. It had its time. It's time is done. We're moving out of here, that way.” Roy pointed to a range of erupting volcanoes.

“How can we survive that?!” Vincent blurted out.

“You can. I'll show you.” Roy said.

“Why can't we just cross the sea?” Beth asked.

“It's freezing up.” Roy answered. “We're in the polar circle now.”

“The polar circle?!”

“Come on.” Roy pulled Vincent up to his feet. “You keep warmer by moving. Walk in place if you have to. We're going through a pass in the southern range. Those who lived here went that way, went to new lands. Much warmer now I bet.” Roy walked to the other end of the garden and looked towards the Koopahari Pass, the only “official” road that was built through the southern range. But he was dismayed to find that the road was engulfed with lava flows that crawled down it. His primary plan didn't look so good now.

“What about that path over there?” Vincent pointed to an opening in the mountain range behind the garden. 

“You aren't ready for that.” said Roy. “That's last resort. Beth wouldn't make it.”

“Why not?” Vincent demanded.

“That's the Valley of the Koopas.” Roy explained. “All Earth kings buried there...almost all. Place is haunted. Dry bones crawl everywhere. The dead armies of kings crawl the hills, they kill anyone passing through. Only the King of the Koopas can pass. Rest have to fight their way out. Beth can't fight like that. Need to try the southern route and find medical. Keep her legs warm until then.” Roy looked back at the fire and saw nothing but bones burning. Heading over, he unleashed another breath of flame which engulfed what was left. He headed back to the doorway. “We're leaving now. Come on.” Vincent knelt down and Beth grabbed onto his shoulders before he followed his father back down the hall.

* * *

Penny Crygor arose from the flood waters that had entered the lower levels of the Temple of Marthos, her body drenched with water. All around her people were in a frenzy as they recovered from the onslaught of the Destroyer. “Where is he?”

“Where is who?” asked an old man in a now drenched blue robe. In that low light, little else could be made out.

“Where is Iggy?” she replied, looking around for the exit. Iggy was not there in her mind like he usually was, instead he was replaced with darkness. Penny waded to the entrance to the upper floor along with a group of people, climbing over steps built by giants. In her mind, she saw and heard a million voices echo through her, crying for help in distress or out of madness. It was an ability brought to her by the Spirit Wand when she agreed to take up its negative polarity, being the female. But it was far more than she bargained for and she wondered how sane she really was at times. 

Penny helped the old man up the steps and with a small group of people made their way to the ground level of the temple, which was mobbed with people. Everyone sat in a clutter amid a loud uproar of voices. The situation called to her, but it was a logistical nightmare. Several already noticed her and began to ask her a variety of questions, many of which she did not have the answer to. She needed to slow her mind down and stay focused.

Penny tried to think of something to say, but her thoughts betrayed her as nothing came to her lips despite her intentions. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Penny didn't imagine it like this. They were lucky they were even alive, but what about tomorrow? The food in storage was already being used up, at least what survived of it and a large group hovered around the food totes hoping for at least a small bit. Given how fast that was going and what she saw of the plants in the corner, they were going to run out of food fast. Desperation was crawling around their minds, but so it was in Penny's. The garden outside must have been destroyed...was, seeing a few people on the surface looking at things. But the one thing that kept bothering her the most was Iggy. Where was he?

Penny remembered Erzembar and wondered if he could help. Many of the people around her had already moved off, deciding to help themselves instead. The old man remained, looking at her with a studious look. “I need to find Iggy.” Penny said, finding the words after a moment. The old man nodded and walked towards the crowd that waited for food. Penny procured the Spirit Wand but found she couldn't cast a teleportation spell correctly. It took her several tries until she found the will power and the spell manifested, sending her into a hidden storage room. There, she saw the globe of Erzembar glowing next to the left wall of the room. “Greetings.” it said. “It is well that you survived.”

“I need to find Iggy.” Penny said, picking up the globe.

“I scan your mind.” Erzembar hummed for a moment. “Ah, this is unfortunate. His current location explains your lack of vision as to his whereabouts. However...”

“Where is he?” Penny demanded, starting to lose patience. In response, Penny found herself teleported into a strange room, the ceiling coalescing into the shape of a pyramid above her. The room was empty save for pools of water in the corners and a stone seat to her left, upon which was King Iggy Koopa who was slumped on his side. Directly across from him was a narrow window that only partially illuminated his body.

“Iggy!” Penny ran over to him and looked at his body. His right hand was clutching the other half of the Spirit Wand, otherwise his gaze ahead seemed to be lifeless. She reached for his shoulder.

“Do not touch him.” Erzembar warned and Penny pulled away. “He is upon the Seat of the World. You would join him if you make physical contact with his vessel now.”

“What does that mean?” Penny asked.

“The seat allows a spirit monarch to witness any portion of the physical illusion upon this planet, without the need of traveling to said illusion.” Erzembar explained. “In order to witness a desired location, one must surrender physical control of their vessel to their soul alone. This requires a large amount of advanced discipline to operate properly. Without this, the soul immediately discarnates from the physical vessel and eventually travels to the astral spheres.”

“Iggy died?!” Penny's mind went into a panic, and she almost touched Iggy again before she remembered Erzembar's words from before. She walked about the room with a million thoughts going through her head.

“Unlike his previous death, Iggy's soul can return on its own volition.” said Erzembar.

“He did that the last time.” Penny countered. 

“Not precisely.” corrected Erzembar. “Previously, he required to travel across time space to discover the method used to reincarnate back into his latest vessel. At this time, his soul is still within this time space and he knows the method for reincarnation. He is currently busy with the mass of discarnate spirits that were killed during the pole shift. His return will be delayed.”

“Why can't I figure this stuff out?” Penny said to herself before sighing in aggravation. Erzembar remained silent, which told her the truth. From the start of this survival saga, she was a little girl with big dreams, and her dreams were now crumbling all over her. While the idea of hosting a survival shelter was grand it was clear she hadn't internally prepared herself for the worst case scenarios properly. In retrospect, her heart didn't let her think of the worst. Not only that, but Penny wasn't entirely knowledgeable of the wands full abilities, spending most of her time preparing the shelter instead of learning about the wands capabilities. She now saw why Iggy continually pressed her to learn more about the wand.

“How long do you think he'll be gone?” Penny asked, forced to rely upon the ancient computer for now.

“It seems he will be occupied for some time.” replied Erzembar. “At least for several days.”

“People will be hungry by then.” Penny said. “I need to find food now. What about those seeds in your temple?” 

“Upon my last inventory analysis, the seeds were safely stored in room AX23B.” stated Erzembar. “However, with the Kermillion fault opening, the current state of the temple cannot be known. I would suggest raising the complex from its suspended state, the spell of which is this.”

Erzembar sent a command to Penny's mind, and at once she walked and climbed through the window to face where the temple complex would be. Pointing her wand towards the area, she let loose the command in her conscious mind and waited. But nothing happened.

“Nothing.” Penny said. Erzembar hummed itself as she climbed back through the window. “I would ask that you attempt this again while I support your efforts.”

Breathing in, Penny climbed back through the window, albeit somewhat annoyed and pointed the wand towards the complex again. She uttered the command, and this time a large noise was heard in the desert, something akin to stone grinding against stone. Eventually the ruckus ceased. “This is unprecedented.” Erzembar commented.

“It worked every time up until now I bet.” Penny said, again climbing back inside the room. 

“More or less correct.” replied Erzembar. “The Kermillion fault is a recent phenomena brought about by the previous pole shift. It appears that damage to the raising mechanisms have occurred and the temple cannot be entered by normal means. The only method that may be used now is teleportation. I will guide you to the room you seek.”

Picking up Erzembar, the two were surrounded by light for a few seconds before it disappeared again. Penny saw herself surrounded by the familiar architecture of Erzembar's hallways, now in a much damaged state. Ahead of her, the hall had collapsed and debris blocked her path.

“This is hall AX.” said Erzembar. “It seems AX23B lies buried as I cannot lock onto any free space within that location.”

“Of course.” Penny muttered. “Listen. Take me to the library in this place. If I can't find any food, then I have to try making it...or conjuring it in magic terms.”

“Very well.” With another teleport, they arrived inside Erzembar's library which, despite its massive size had minimal damage done to it. A few shelves had ripped from the walls and collapsed onto the floor and debris from the ceiling was littered on the ground in some places, but otherwise it had largely weathered the storm.

Penny set Erzembar down on a table and looked at the large number of books and scrolls, not sure where to start. But upon seeing a color code alongside a long wall of scrolls she headed towards that direction, eying the green section. It's what Iggy would have done being the master of nature magic, or so Penny thought. While she wasn't even close to his skill, she still needed to try and conjure up seeds for the colony.

But Erzembar couldn't help but worry about Penny's delicate mental state. It was inadvisable to allow those mentally fragile to work with magic, but experience taught him to be silent to those who could not reason...

* * *

It was the first time that Mona looked outside and what she saw somewhat startled her. The sea had risen much faster than she thought. The rocky plains that once surrounded the Eternal Fortress Genlic were now gone and replaced with the open sea. Only the hill the fortress rested upon remained along with a small area of land below circling its circumference. Waves still sloshed about and the sky was filled with a cloudy turmoil that flew straight across her in a hurry. In the distance, what were the Amadorian mountains were now islands of themselves, with numerous peaks jutting out of the waves. It seemed their original guess was more or less correct.

The voices behind her however reminded her of the situation. Mona turned around and was met with a crowd of people that filled the hall she was in. Everything seemed to be in chaos, despite a number of groups trying to regain control. Some were trying to get into the food production area, others were tending to wounded while others looked for medical aid. Even more just stood around and looked at the chaos in awe, reminding Mona of her duties. She took her radio, which had half battery remaining.

“Have you found Larry anywhere?” Mona asked.

“Negative, we've been working without him.” came Kooper's response.

“Hey, are there any medics on floor B3?” asked Bombette.

“I'll try to move some up from 4.” came an unfamiliar response. The team had grown larger since their inception and Mona didn't know all of them.

“Can we try to get everyone into the Main Hall so we can get this more organized?” Mona asked.

“Well, everyone can't fit in there.” said Kooper. “But there's the auditorium just below it.”

“They can't fit there either.” came 9-volt's voice. “I've tried before with that one concert.”

“So split it between them.” Mona suggested. “I'll take the hall and Kooper can get the torium. But we need people to keep an eye on the floors too, so I want the more senior members to look after them.”

“So string along the newer ones?” Kooper asked.

“Yeah. I know people, trust me.” Mona said. “Let's do this. I'm heading up there now. I'll take floor 2 and up. If I have more room I'll radio in.”

“You got it chief.” Kooper relayed.

“Send all the auditors to the fields and stockrooms below and do a count on what we have.” Mona continued, now making her way through the crowd. “Leave anyone seriously hurt where they are with the medics. I want most of security to guard the food and stores, cause people. The rest, send them to the torium and the hall. If you can, send a small medic group to each if they have enough guys to do it.”

“Roger ma'am.” Putting the radio away, Mona took out her Wand of the Blood inherited from Larry and successfully teleported to one of the upper balconies of the main hall where people were already seen flooding in. Mona wondered why her teleporting suddenly decided to start working after not working earlier, but chalked it up to her nerves. Watching people enter, she was amazed at how many people were injured from the pole shift despite being within such an impenetrable structure. Mona also noticed the penchant for people not to listen to authority despite being told not to come here while injured. At length, Mona looked away, not liking to be above anyone else like that. In reality, she wished Larry was here to do this speech thing instead, but trying to contact him via telepathy resulted in nothing...again.

She almost didn't see a group of people take residence on the balcony across from her. One pointed and aimed a large weapon which sent Mona into shock for a moment, but she regained her wits and took her wand in defense. A rocket was fired at her and she imagined herself surrounded by a shield. The projectile exploded on target, breaking what order there was below and everyone went every which way in chaos.

But the mutinous were surprised to find Mona intact in the smoke, though she looked visibly shaken by the attack. This didn't stop their determination however and they loaded their next rounds while bringing another launcher in. Mona knew she had to kill them but also knew she wasn't that kind of a person to begin with. Nevertheless, she charged up her wand to defend herself again with a new idea.

But the next round of shots never met their target as they each exploded one by one in mid air. Mona looked around her until she was aware of a noise coming from behind her. Walking upon a crudely shaped crutch was King Larry Koopa who slowly moved towards her with his Blood Wand in the other hand. “Come on assholes!” he shouted, pointing his wand at them. “I will kill all of you right now!”

“Run!” cried the leader, but they became surrounded by a blackish rainbow light. “No no, stay put.” Larry said. “I order you to.” Taking them up into the air, he slammed them against a wall nearby and they fell to the ground in a heap. One of them did not get up, but the rest tried to run again.

“Anyone who tries to mutiny in my fortress will be killed.” said Larry, encircling them again. “And anyone who tries to harm Mona, myself or anyone on the Genlic team will be met with punishment. I don't tolerate any of that bullshit!” He raised them off the ground and watched them struggle. “What's the matter? Can't fight a cripple?”

“Dickless lizard.” spat the leader. “You don't deserve this place. We will take back what is ours!”

In response, Larry flipped them upside down and slammed them into the ground head first, breaking most of their necks and killing them instantly. One managed to get up but people had arrived at that level by then and had their way with him. Larry sighed.

“Thanks...” Mona managed to say, still shaken up. Larry nodded in response. “What happened to you?” She looked at him and noticed dried blood on the left side of his body under his crutch which his left arm leaned against.

“I fell onto an elevator.” Larry muttered. “I also lost my radio. But I gotta take care of this first.” He hobbled over to the edge of the balcony. “Hello! You just got a front row seat to what I had to deal with on a constant basis! And I still do apparently. If you see anyone do this, take it upon yourselves to arrest them if you want, and bring them to us alive. Some of these may be spies from the establishment, the...old world order. The UmNaru. Check their hands. If one of them has a strange symbol on it, then they're an agent. They want the old order to come back to persecute and basically fuck everyone over again. Guess what? That's not happening, at least in this place. And if they kill a single one of you, then I will make sure they are hunted down across the planet until they are extinct! They've tried to kill me ever since I became king, but that's not going to happen. They can't run now that Genlic is an island, so it seems some have come out in a last desperate stand.

“Speaking of that, let's talk about some more pleasant things. We need the boating groups to step up to the plate now and achieve what they've planned. Once they're built, we can start fishing and exploring the other islands once things are under control here. Start as soon as possible on that. As for right now, Mona probably has a better grasp of what's going on.” Larry looked at her.

“...I'm just sad that people hate me like that.” Mona said, but found herself choking up and couldn't continue. A shout came and the crowd offered applause for her support as she tried to hide the tears.

“No, I can do this.” Mona said. “I'm just sad.” She straightened herself out after a moment. “Hatred like that needs to stop. There's no reason for it except for your own selfishness. But I'm off track...listen, before I say anything else, if there's anyone you know that is wounded, we have medics at both ends of every hall so please go see them if someone has an injury. 

“Okay, next thing. Right now, we're auditing what we have left of the fields and in storage, and we know we have lost at least 2 of those fields. So to make sure we don't starve, we're going to be rationing in place until we know how much we really have. It's not going to be that bad, the only change in the routine will be eating two meals a day instead of three. People from the Genlic team will mark your name off a list and check to see how many times you've eaten food from the stores per day. Once you've had two meals, that's it. We don't think we lost a whole lot, but for starvation reasons this needs to be done as overeating is the last thing we want. Once we get the reports back from the auditors, then we'll decide what to do next. Well, that's my portion of it.” Mona stepped back and looked at Larry.

“A few more things.” said Larry. “I ask the DX group to get into full gear and start rigging up the antennas they brought down not too long ago. We're an island now so we should have amazing range, but at the same time, there's few other ways to talk to the mainland so this is one of the best ways to do so-” A strong aftershock shook at that moment and Larry nearly fell off of his feet. “And of course these quakes wont go away any time soon either. Be vigilant when they happen. Also, if there are any Magikoopa's in the crowd right now then I'd like to see you as soon as possible. That's it for now. If you have any ideas, then let one of us know. Thank you for your patience.”

The group began to disperse, but before Mona could say anything a trio of Magikoopas appeared in front of Larry. “Yes, how can we be of assistance?” one of them asked.

“We need a defensive perimeter set up around the circumference of Genlic.” Larry explained. “This should alert us to any more spies of the UmNaru that might still be here, and we can take care of them easily once they are found after that.”

“I believe that this may be done.” said one. “However, we will first need to obtain a crystal sufficient for what you ask. While we do have a collection currently, it will take some time before we can determine which will be most useful for the job. Once we have discovered the best method possible, we shall inform you right away.”

“Also, do you require healing?” another Magikoopa asked.

“It's a little unfair, but...I do need to be in better shape right now.” Larry said. “That's fine.”

“Very well, we shall meet you in our chambers when you are ready.” said the last and the trio disappeared in swirling shapes and colors.

“I would hug you right now for what you did, but I don't want to break anything else.” smiled Mona.

“Save it when I'm in better shape.” Larry said, adjusting his position. “The shift might be over, but we're still running a marathon. And even though it's very unfair compared to everyone else, I'm about to be healed up by the magic users.”

“Hey, you're the leader, you need it.” Mona pointed out. “And I doubt you can run far with a crutch, but that was pretty impressive.”

“I'm a wounded warrior, that's how I'm gonna react.” Larry said.

“Only in body I hope.” Mona said, looking at his damaged side.

“Yeah.” Larry smiled. “I'm still on fire. And I won't be put out that easily.”

“Come on, I'll teleport you there.” Mona said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. She then cast a teleportation spell and they both disappeared in a flash.

* * *

With a groan, Ludwig Von Koopa awoke from sleep with pain rippling through his head. It was dark, though he could hear voices of children around him. His vision refocusing, he saw that he was under a pile of hospital beds...but how? That's not what occurred to him earlier, when atmospheric turbulence launched him through the corridor and into the back wall, knocking him out. Now he was slumped against a wall of a slanted room.

“I can't get it off!” came a cry.

“Hold still, I'll push up!” came another. Amongst all this were the sounds of crying which prompted Ludwig to action. He pushed the hospital bed aside and slowly stood up and a near silence fell in the room. The former monarch looked around him and realized what had happened. He was clearly in the escape pod, which now lay at an angle with the now broken hospital beds in the corner. They all stared at him, clearly not expecting his revival so soon.

“The pole shift has occurred then.” he said to himself, unsure to count himself as lucky for not bring conscious for the event, or unlucky for not being there for his family. But the sight of Samantha's leg wedged between pieces of metal made him put the dilemma off for later. As he walked over, Xavier, his oldest child with long thin navy blue hair backed away from his sister as Ludwig almost without effort lifted the metallic fragment from her, revealing a bloody leg.

“Again?” Xavier exclaimed.

“What do you mean “again?”” asked Ludwig.

“That was the same leg that was broken earlier!” Xavier explained. 

“Earlier? How long was my person unconscious for?” Ludwig asked. The children looked at each other.

“I have no idea.” Elizabeth said at last, the second oldest with long green hair with multiple braids. “Everything moved too fast.”

“Considering the end of civilization that most likely occurred, that is forgivable.” said Ludwig. “But you must inform me what has transpired since my temporary departure from conscious reality when our situation is more...secure.” He looked at the rest of his offspring. Trent Koopa, his youngest and mute son with spiked golden hair had been dragged into one of the seats it seemed, but he was unconscious and not buckled in. Walking over, he checked his wrist and found a pulse.

“Both you guys went flying into the wall.” said Elizabeth. “Trent hasn't woken up yet.”

“There are only five of you.” said Ludwig. “Where is Tommy and Amy?”

“They got trapped in a room back on the castle.” said Elizabeth. “All the doors closed for some reason.”

“Emergency drop procedure.” Ludwig muttered before he climbed up to the exit door of the escape pod. From the windows, he saw that the pod was half buried in the ground. “Please keep to the sides of the pod.” said Ludwig. “And please move Trent to a closer position to the exit.” Without questioning, Elizabeth did just that with Shirley, her younger sister with spiky pink hair who after a long state of shock decided to help her. When this was done, Ludwig opened the door and a small river of dirt flowed into the pod before ceasing just as fast. Ludwig poked his head out momentarily before coming back inside.

“If you have stored any supplies here, then please bring them along.” he explained. “The castle is a bit distant.”

One by one the second generation took one of the packs they had placed earlier in the central compartment and climbed out of the pod. “Please take turns holding...ah, you have awakened.” Ludwig corrected himself, as Trent nodded in response. “The castle has crashed some distance from our location. Please bring some supplies with your person before we begin the trek.”

Following his siblings lead, Trent took a pack for himself before climbing out last and looking at the landscape around him. Everywhere, the ground was crumbled up and heaved in piles that lay scattered across the landscape. The sky had grown darker, covered with a thick volcanic gloom that stretched in all directions. To their north was the former mountainous western border of the Old Kingdom, now a range of volcanoes belching out a wall of fire and ash towards the north and hence to the sea. The Koopahari Pass was now covered with lava flows that spread into the valley.

“What's over those mountains?” Shirley asked, always liking to see new things.

“The Old Kingdom.” Ludwig said. “The kingdom of your grandfather, Bowser. I suspect it now lies in a snowy and ashen ruin. It will soon become inhospitable as the new north pole is now located within that region.” The sound of distant voices however made him turn to the south. Far off, Ludwig could see a large band of people making their way northwest towards the now southwestern crags. He guessed they were from the Bambesh Valley looking for a new home, but that served to remind him of the danger he and his children were now in, remembering his previous stint as monarch and the people's hatred of him.

“Trent.” Ludwig called, making a motion with his claw. Trent took off his backpack, which had a small wand sticking out of the top. Unzipping it, he took out a handful of standard Magikoopa wands and handed a few to his father. “Here.” Ludwig gave a wand to each of his daughters. “You will need those more than your brothers.”

“Why's that? I could fight better!” Xavier claimed.

“Because those lesser Koopa's of this world will go to great lengths to achieve what they desire.” Ludwig explained. “This includes the ravaging of young female Koopas.” Xavier fell quiet after that.

“Eww! No way! That's never going to happen!” Shirley exclaimed.

“I hope this is the case.” said Ludwig. “It is regrettable that I have not taught the proper magic disciplines previously, but upon our trek back to the castle I shall review a few core principles that should suffice for your protection. Migrants are beginning to approach from the southwest and I have left a negative legacy amongst my former peoples, one that none of you should carry but may have to defend yourselves against nonetheless.” He gave the remaining wands to his sons before zipping up the pack and giving it back to Trent.

A light went off around Ludwig, and he promptly took out his wand to find his gem blinking. After a moment, it went still and an image of Queen Kylie Koopa emerged above it. 

“Holy crap you're awake!” she exclaimed. “Virtual hugs!”

“Mommy!” The kids all went off at once. Ludwig smiled. “Quite pleased to see you in good condition, Queen Kylie.”

“You guys are my everything, thank you so much for being okay.” smiled Kylie. “Wait...where's Tommy and Amy?”

“They were in a storage when all the doors closed.” Elizabeth replied. “I couldn't get them out.”

“The one I told you to take the supplies out of?” Kylie asked.

“Yeah, the door thing said something like 'override' when I tried to open it.” Elizabeth said.

“It seems the emergency altitude protection system was activated.” said Ludwig. “Is the power currently available to your person now?”

“Um, no.” Kylie replied.

“Then the doors must be opened manually.” said Ludwig. “Under the door's touchpad is a panel outlined within the walls construction. Remove this panel to find a crank, which then may be used to open the space. I must advise however that the torque may be somewhat...tight.” 

Kylie sighed. “Thanks in advance. I just hope they're alright. Are you guys headed to the castle?” 

“We were about to set off towards it, yes.” Ludwig confirmed. 

“Well, be careful because I spotted a big wave of migrants headed northwest.” Kylie warned. “I think they're heading to Lemmy's Castle.”

“It seems the Bambesh Valley is in turmoil.” Ludwig guessed. “Have you heard from Morton Junior?”

“No I haven't.” replied Kylie. “I tried to reach him and I got nothing, so I don't know what's going on down there.”

Ludwig hummed. “In any event, we must begin our journey. I will contact you if we must halt for the evening, but this shouldn't be necessary. Until then.” They smiled at each other.

“I'll see you later guys!” Kylie said before the image disappeared and the gem went silent.

“Now then, it is best to avoid the migrants as much as possible. Therefore, we must set out immediately and keep a quickened pace in order to keep ahead of the first pack. We shall then double back to the castle from the north at a distance.” Ludwig explained. “I ask that you each take turns caring for Samantha and to help her walk. Are each of you ready?” No vocal responses came, but there were several nods. “Then let us be off.” With that, Ludwig put his wand away, turned and started off towards the west northwest and his children followed him one by one, some eying the people far to their south.


	47. Keep Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hungry arrive at Lemmy's icebox, now sealed shut.  
> The second son of Ludwig awakens to a new path.  
> The reaper works overtime in the Old Kingdom.  
> The dead king still lives, but that in turn awakens another.

Underneath a massive pile of ice within the former arctic circle of Mushroom World was a castle commonly known as Lemmy's Castle, now surrounded by shouting and noise. Within the underground hangar were many people with icepicks hacking away at the entrance to the ground level, occasionally stepping aside to make way for falling ice chunks. It was Lemmy Koopa's plan to break the ice below to hopefully shift the ice downwards and help clear the main ground entrance above. Looking down at the hangar from a higher floor through a line of windows, he suddenly jumped through a door frame and slid down an icy ramp formally a stairwell until he jumped again and landed with a yelp. It didn't matter if it was the end of the world. He was still going to have fun.

“Hey Lemmy dude.” said a blue Pianta walking up to him. “The ice is melting man. It's been getting real hot out there.”

“Can I call you Steve?” Lemmy asked.

“Uh, no! That's not my name!” replied a flabbergasted Pianta. 

Lemmy laughed to himself. “I'm kidding! I don't know your real name so I made one up.”

“It's Harold.” huffed the Pianta. “Harold Pianta. Hey listen. The ice is melting, and we're getting a pool at the bottom. See?” He pointed at the small pool of water at the bottom of the hangar. 

“Yeah, it's supposed to melt.” said Lemmy. “We're in warm climates now.”

“Oh yeah?” Harold asked, not really knowing much about their new location. “So this is all going to melt soon?”

“Yeah, but it's better to hack it than have it totally flood this place right?” Lemmy pointed out. “Cause we still have things down here, but if the water gets bad then we salvage what we can.” He shrugged. “Not much else to do.”

One of Lemmy's wands started to glow at that moment. “Got to go!” He jumped his way back up the icy stairwell to the room he was just in earlier. He whipped out the Wand of Koopa, supposedly the most powerful wand in the world and found the gem blinking on top. After a moment, it stopped and projected an image of Queen Kylie Koopa above it.

“Oh, it's good to see you okay.” Kylie sighed.

“Yeah. What about you?” Lemmy asked.

“Just some booboos but I'll be fine.” Kylie replied. “I found the escape pod my children were in, and Ludwig. They are...well...”

“Well what?”

“Two are missing.” Kylie said bluntly. 

Lemmy frowned. “I'm sure they're somewhere.”

“I mean, the whole room was blasted open.” Kylie continued. “The wall is basically gone and they're not inside...I haven't told Ludwig about it yet.”

“Ludwig's awake?” That was news.

“Yeah, he woke up earlier...” Kylie trailed off and paused for a moment. “Hey listen. If I asked you if you could let my kids live there, would you?” 

Lemmy hummed to himself for a moment. “I might.”

“Because the castle here crashed and I have no way of getting it off the ground right now.” Kylie continued. “And I'm worried that migrants might try and sneak aboard. Since Roy took away our protection, we don't have much against them if they decide to attack, and I don't want my kids to be a part of something they didn't do.”

“Well, we're kind of buried right now.” said Lemmy. “A whole bunch of ice just piled right on top of us and we're trying to chisel and hack and pick out way out. No one can--” He heard multiple people call his name from below. “I got to go.”

“Okay, I'll call you later.” The image disappeared and blow he saw a number of people waving their hands at him. Lemmy put his wand away and made a face. “What???” he shouted back.

A variety of voices picked up. “There's people on the other side!” came one loud voice. Once again, Lemmy jumped and slid down the ice stairwell before flipping in the air and landing on his feet. “There's people outside?” he asked. He was met with a million responses at once, and instead jumped over ice chunks and made his way to their furthest progress in the ice. Reaching the end wall, he put his ear to it and listened. Nothing. “Um, hello?” he called out.

“Hello!” came a muffled voice.

“Hi! This is Lemmy Koopa. You have reached my castle!” Lemmy shouted back. “But sadly we're unavailable right now. We're buried under a huge pile of ice!”

“We're just looking for food, that's all!” came the response. “Bambesh Valley is ruined, it's a mess. We decided to come up here to see if you could help us out.”

“Uh...” Lemmy thought to himself. “Well, we can't get out of here, but we're trying to make a tunnel to the surface. How many of you are there?”

“Oh...” Lemmy thought he heard other voices on the other end. “Maybe a thousand or more. I really don't know.”

Lemmy made a face. Did a large part of the kingdom's population suddenly migrate to his castle? “Uh oh.”

“What was that?”

“Um, I can give you food if you try and help us make a tunnel to the surface.” Lemmy offered. “I think that's fair, right?”

“Alright, I'll ask around and see if anyone wants to help.” came the reply.

“We're trapped in here anyway, so unless we get a tunnel made than I can't offer any food.” Lemmy clarified.

“Well, you do know the ice is melting out here, right?” said the voice. “It's melting fast, it's been getting warmer since the apocalypse happened. Had a hard time with breaking ice under our feet on the way here.”

“Then that's good news! This tunnel should be made in no time. If anyone has axes or picks, then please help us and we'll feed you. Dig straight to the front of the castle and yell at each other and I'm sure this will work.”

“Roger.” came the reply and Lemmy turned back to his men. “It looks like some will be making a tunnel from the outside!”

“Yeah, we overheard everything you said.” said a monty mole. “You were yelling pretty loud.”

“Oh.” Lemmy's radio went off. “Hey Lemmy, we need help on the third floor!” came Toadette's voice.

“Okay!” With that he headed back upstairs and looked for Toadette's repair group as the excavation continued.

* * *

Tommy Koopa awoke only to utter a cry as he looked at the ground far below his feet. He grasped his parachute which had become entangled within a palm tree, inside of a large jungle. Needless to say, he had no idea where he was or how he got there, the only clues being the ocean to his right in the distance and a long mountain range to his left filled with volcanoes. Few trees still stood around him as many of them had fallen due to the hurricane force winds, the tsunamis that carved out the land and pyroclastic flows from the volcanoes in the range. There were no other trees immediately nearby, which meant that the only way down was to climb down.

Tommy swung his legs in the air to try and gain momentum to swing towards the trunk. The parachute began to tear along the branches, and by the time Tommy had grabbed onto the trunk it had several large holes punctured through it. With his weight, the parachute tore off and flew through the air until it danged down his back. The new counterweight pulled Tommy down and he had a hard time hanging on, his claws digging into the bark. Deciding to get down the tree as soon as possible, he carefully climbed down being cautious with his footing. However, one wrong move and he slipped and slid down it instead. With his claws acting as a brake, he reached the bottom with a thud and sat there for a moment. He was amazed he just did that without getting injured, save for his burning hands. 

Tommy unhooked the straps to his parachute and stood up. The jungle was in tatters with fallen ruins and shrubs all over the landscape. He had no idea where he was and he didn't see any other signs of life around him, let alone any civilization. He felt unsure of what to do now. He was far from Amy at this point and the castle, and guessed he flew over an ocean. Yes, that he remembered. Something happened and everything went dark. Now he was inside of a ruined jungle. Tommy checked his pack and found only a few food bars with him. Crap. The severity of the situation finally dawned on him, and he needed to go look for food.

Putting the pack back on, Tommy wandered around the jungle floor, stepping over fallen trees and rocks. The wind was picking up and the clouds above traveled quickly across the sky.

“Hey you!” came a shout. Tommy turned and saw two green bipedal creatures approach him. “What the hell are you? Crawling critter? What do you do? Who do you serve?” one of them asked.

“I'm a Koopa.” Tommy plainly replied.

“A Koopa? From the North? What you doing so far South?” the first one continued. “You know the King don't like foreigners so far South. He'll have your way with you if you don't put in a good word.”

“I'm from the Koopa Kingdom.” Tommy replied. “And I'm a son of Ludwig, so you better not hurt me because I'm sure he's going to be looking for me soon.”

“Ludwig? I heard that name...” the creature thought to itself. “Hey Pete, do you know of a Ludwig?”

“Huh? Yeah, he's the...first son of that Koopa King, Bowser.” Pete replied.

“Oh yeah, he's just the son of...Wahhhh!” he jumped upon the realization of what that meant. “My apologies! We don't mean to anger the house of Koopa! We have enough problems! But I have to ask, what are you doing so far South?”

“I was riding a parachute and I flew over an ocean to this place.” said Tommy. “Whatever this place is.”

“You are in the Kong Jungles.” he said. “And we are the Kremlings of King K. Rool, the true rulers of the land.”

“Okay well, I need to get back home. Do you know anything that could help?” Tommy asked.

“We could help you if you help us.” the Kremling suggested.

“With what?”

“We want food.” he continued. “We are starving. And we know who has some.” He pointed to his left towards the ocean below. “Those troublesome Kongs have a load of it, but they do not share any of it! They will be moving away soon and we must catch them before they do!”

“We must eat.” Pete added.

“Yes, if you help us, we can get you a boat.” said the other. “They have one, you can take it.”

“And what if I don't want to?”

“Eh, you could starve in the jungle.” said Pete. “And we won't help you any more, but it's up to you.” 

Tommy sighed. “Fine. Let's go.” Tommy relented, not liking the idea but finding few other choices at the moment.

* * *

Ashfall now blinded their sight of the trail into the erupting volcanic range ahead of them. The three were adorned with hooded cloaks, with Vincent and Beth using the black cloaks of the UmNaru to double as camouflage. Even then, the ash began to burn at their hands and faces and they struggled to keep up with their father. At length, Roy turned around and faced his kids. Vincent looked tired trying to carry his pack along with his immobile sister on his back.

“Getting bad.” Roy remarked, reaching into his pack. “Here, take these.” He handed Vincent a pair of black leather gloves before giving a smaller pair to Beth. “The ash will burn. Try to stay covered. Another thing...” He looked back from where they came for a moment. “Don't let anyone see your hands. The symbol on the left hand, don't let anyone see it. No exceptions.”

The kids said nothing as Roy turned back around to look at the path ahead of them, now quickly becoming covered with ash. “We'll cut out way through here. Come on.” He then continued forward, and Vincent sighed to himself, still not believing it was possible to get through the range. Eventually they reached a rocky alcove that overlooked the lands below, with the volcanoes and smoke now dangerously close. “We camp here.” Roy said, putting his pack down. Suddenly, he turned and with one swift motion unsheathed a hunting knife and threw it into the distance. It hit a stray goomba in the head, killing it instantly. “Supper.” he muttered before going to retrieve it.

* * *

Vincent awoke early the next morning inside a makeshift tent with a sense of restlessness. He looked over at Beth who was still asleep. Getting up, he looked at the scene outside and found that a river of lava had appeared below them during the night, covering the path they had wished to take. It was like he thought: the range was too unpredictable and dangerous to cross and he wondered why his dad refused to enter that passage to the north. If he was the Earth King, then it shouldn't be a problem, right? Vincent turned back to grab his cloak in the corner when he noticed that Beth was not breathing. Instantly, he was on her trying to pump air into her stomach, but her pale face made no movement and her body was stiff.

“Come on, Beth!” he shouted, now feeling helpless. “Why...?” He collapsed on her, unable to do anything else. Beth had passed away during the night. Why did people have to die? Why did everyone he loved go away? Was he not deserving? No, he was and knew that the family he had deserved his love too. Then why was all of this being taken away from him? Within the privacy of his tent, he let out what had accumulated since his torturous days under the UmNaru, sick and tired of all the pain.

He did not know how much time had passed, but after a fountain of tears he found the will to stand up and breathe deeply. He was still alive and as long as he was alive he could help others who needed it most. Yes, Beth was not his fault as he now realized. They did what they could, but she needed immediate medical help which was not available. Now that his family was mostly dead, he had a growing urge to find his own.

Vincent covered Beth's body with her cloak then walked outside the tent. He found his father not far away upon a large rock overlooking the south, facing away from him and smoking a cigar in silence. Neither said anything for a while.

“Beth's...gone.” Vincent finally blurted out.

“Yeah.” Roy muttered. “Saw...” He exhaled a breath of smoke which failed in comparison to the ash that billowed up above him to his right.

“Can't really bury her...do we burn her?” Vincent asked.

“Yup.” Lost in thought, Roy had his own share of problems. He knew Beth wouldn't have made it without serious medical care and wasn't surprised by the outcome. It was why he took the shortest path to the new kingdom for her. The ocean would've frozen her and the other route was unimaginable for her.

Vincent had brought out Beth's body in the meantime and looked through it as Roy continued to ponder to himself. At this rate, there was no good way through the crags now that the trails were wiped out. Now what?

“Do we still have to go this way?” Vincent asked, echoing his thoughts. Roy stood up with a groan and looked out over the ocean, now frozen with a growing layer of ice. “There were more roads through than the Koopahari. Figured one would be open but...yeah. It was the best route for her, the quickest for Beth to live. Ocean is freezing up now. Couldn't go that way.” He looked at his former daughter. “Doesn't matter now. She had a bad condition, was lucky to make it this far.” With that, Roy unleashed a barrage of flames that engulfed her body then stood in silence for a moment. “The eternal flame burns on!” he cried out.

“...the eternal flame burns on.” Vincent echoed, watching the same thing happen again. He remembered his father's advice and knew he had to keep going. He also knew that his family beyond the veil was watching him now, or so he read in the scrolls. It certainly felt that way at least.

After Beth was burned to ashes, Roy began to pack up his camping gear, but said nothing.

“I hope we're not going in there.” Vincent said.

Roy huffed. “Fine. You choose.”

“The north pass.” Vincent promptly replied. “That valley you talked about.”

“You sure?” Roy asked.

“I think it's the only way out.” said Vincent. “It's better than this.”

“Don't know about that.” Roy said. “We can make it there quick, can use Beth's share of the food so we're not losing much. But like I said, the place is haunted by the undead.”

“And you said that the King of the Koopas can pass though it.” Vincent stated.

“Only the King of the Koopas.” Roy corrected. “That means they wont bother me, but they will bother you. Did they teach you fight off an entire army?”

“No, but...” Vincent help up two high end Magikoopa wands. “I kept Beth's wand.”

“Eh...” Roy muttered and walked about. “It's not really about the wand, but the skill behind the user. If you can kill a ton of undead in one blast then you might have a chance. But it's not just soldiers: the kings are there too, your ancestors. I'll have to defend you the whole way through. Right now, I don't think you're ready to fight a king.”

“Hey, I fought off Narec before.” Vincent countered. “Didn't his UmNaru group control the Earth King's in the past? I think I have a chance. It's better than going through this which doesn't look possible without hurting ourselves.”

Roy grunted, unable to counter the boy's point about Narec. “It's your choice, not mine.” he reminded him, packing away the last of his tent. “Get your stuff together. We'll follow this ridge to the north.”

Vincent nodded and began to pack away his own tent, carefully rolling up the scrolls he had been studying. Maybe he was being overconfident with himself and their new destination, but he shook it off. He had to find any way to keep going and leave the pain behind him.

* * *

The sun, now a pale light in the volcanic gloom that surrounded most of the world shone through the narrow stone window in front of him. King Iggy Koopa was alive again, but not yet living. Too many people called him back and after consulting the departing souls of Earth, decided to return to his incarnation to continue his lessons. 

Iggy blinked, and moved his neck upwards, trying to regain control of his body. He had been gone for a shorter time, but his appendages remained stiff and the lack of blood flow was noticeable. Still, the blood began pumping faster than the last time and after a minute he managed to move the arm that held the Spirit Wand, the device that kept his body in a relatively preserved state. But the wand was acting strangely, not just the glowing mass of light that it was supposed to be, but a peculiar algorithm of reconstruction and deconstruction of possibility vortices that shuffled about the wand's exterior endlessly. Iggy had never seen such a state before and wondered what it meant. It did resemble the transformation of wand polarity upon the initiation of a monarch however...

An image then entered his mind that lay physically manifest just outside his chamber. Given it's improbability, he wasn't sure if he believed it, but the neurons did not lie. What did she do?

Grabbing hold of the armrests, Iggy forced himself to stand up, resembling an old Koop who had been watching television for too long. His legs complained of the weight but they sustained him, albeit in a rather wobbly fashion. Immediately after Iggy felt his senses restored to him and saw that he was in a small chamber with a single stone seat. The memories flooded back and he remembered being washed into the place by the pole shift tsunami before losing consciousness. Replaying his journey into the heavens, he remembered being told that he had landed upon the Seat of the World. 

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh....” he let out a long exasperated sigh of remembrance as the dots connected themselves to full understanding. The spirit of a previous wife had come to say hello and helped explained his situation before her departure to her new life form, many light years away. It was a welcome sight given this life's frailties and obstacles, but that made him remember the image he saw before.

He tried moving his stiff legs, which seemed to be made more of lead than flesh and bone. “Aauugh! Mooove!” Slowly, he plopped his feet towards the window as his Spirit Wand continued to construct and deconstruct itself endlessly. Peering outside, he saw the desert, now wet with the residue of the tsunami previous and littered with debris in every direction. A short distance away to his right was what appeared to be a small garden growing out of the sand, somehow sustaining itself despite all the factors against it. To one perimeter were a large group of people looking at the spectacle and chatting amongst themselves. They seemed uncertain as to what to do. 

On an impulse, Iggy jumped out of the window and sailed nearly 120 feet through the air before landing on his two feet. The wet sand heightened his senses and so were the people's in front of him, now silencing their chatter and watching the weird Koopa approach the strange garden. It was a weird thing to attempt this when the seeds could be rescued by moving the debris in hallway AX23B by casting an Earth Transmutation spell, then using the same spell to knock down the locked and now broken door in the seed vault. But no, desperation had taken hold of her mind and there she now stood, metamorphosed into a large chestnut tree with her physical outline apparent in it's trunk. All around her the beautiful symmetry of nature blossomed reflecting the order of the universe. But Iggy noticed a bush of Yoshi berries nearby and he was brought back to that time aboard the Galaxy when they ate at a Yoshi themed restaurant together as they planned out their survival sites. This garden wasn't just reflecting nature...

Iggy's eyes darted to a group of children who had taken a few of the fruit from the garden. “STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPP!!!” he screamed, and the children dropped the fruit in fear and stumbled back towards their parents. “Do not eat her!”

“Is that really Penny?” an old man in blue robes asked. Apparently it was Merlin.

“By eating her, you absorb her emotions and thoughts.” Iggy explained. “Tell me, do you really want her insanity?”

“No.” Merlin put bluntly.

“But we're hungry!” cried one Koopa child. Iggy did not respond, too busy trying to figure out how to unravel the spiral Penny got herself into. It was a legend amongst those working nature magic that people could be turned into trees of various kinds, but the spell had long been lost despite years of research trying to uncover it. Evidently, Penny must have stumbled across it. Since she wasn't a standard magic user, that meant only one thing. 

“I've got the clue, so don't touch anything until I get back!” Iggy warned. “Because I can see you.” But before he warped, he couldn't help but try something. “Are you there?” he thought.

“Yes.” came the response. “Yes, I am here. I've waited a long time for you, Iggy Koopa.” It was Penny's voice, but distorted. On the tree, a shining brilliance hung from one of the branches in a similar state to his wand. A thought hit him then: did Penny's new physical state disrupt the wands programming? But then what about that voice?

Iggy looked around him and shifted his perspective to the vibrations of evil that still lay across the planet. Shades of black covered various areas, the typical places, but a surprise came when the ground below Genlic suddenly darkened and his vision became filled with stars. “Who are you?” Iggy asked aloud.

“Pathetic humans have no place among the divine hierarchy of the Koopas.” said the voice, now much deeper. “Such a poor decision must be dealt with as the Spirit King's judgment allowed.”

Iggy had not seen this apparition below Genlic until now and wondered if Penny had indeed broken the wand's boundaries of operation. If so, then this entity was invisible to him otherwise by an unknown spell. Its mind remained inaccessible to him as well, refusing to give up its secrets. Why would breaking the Spirit Wand allow this evil to be seen? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

“You didn't answer my question.” Iggy stated. “Who are you?”

“Quite right.” said the voice. “You do not deserve to know after your insolence. Now with the world open to me, I will fix what you have broken.”

The tree suddenly became surrounded by a dark light and plants around it began to darken and wither. Iggy prepared a spell with the Spirit Wand, but nothing charged up and it remained in its current state. That was not good. Putting it away, he took out his personal wand and cast a spell on Penny. A white encasement shield surrounded the tree and spread throughout all the vegetation in the garden, with everything becoming frozen inside crystal like lattices.

“Get back inside the complex!” Iggy ordered. “This is beyond any of you! Merlin, try to form a barrier around the temple.” Merlin nodded and Iggy immediately teleported into the library inside the Temple of Erzembar where he had seen its namesake resting on a table. 

“Thank heavens.” Erzembar exclaimed. “Penny has-”

“Where is the spell?” Iggy asked quickly. 

“Two tables over.” he replied, and Iggy wasted no time pouring over the ancient document. It was what it said it was, a spell to turn living sentient beings into trees. The legends were true, but Iggy could not use the spell as it was intended. Instead, he needed to cast it in reverse which made the situation twice as difficult.

“Can you use time alteration with this?” Iggy asked, referencing a gray spectrum spell.

“No, the effects are meant to be permanent.” Erzembar replied. “In order to truly reverse the spell, a deconstruction spell from the black spectrum must be employed.”

“So that and restore form could work.” Iggy said aloud. “That's two spells at once, three counting the shield.”

“Yes.” Erzembar merely replied and Iggy sighed. “I'll have to mix the two. Fine. Do you know who I'm facing here?”

Erzembar was silent and Iggy scoffed. “Why am I not surprised?” That told him everything he needed to know. With the spell memorized, Iggy warped back to the makeshift garden where the encasement shield was seen with several cracks growing outside the crystal of its main target, the tree. Iggy inhaled and went to work with the transmutation spell, and inside the encasement shielding the plant life was seen growing in reverse, petals unblooming and stems retreating back into the wet sand. But the blackness increased in ferocity, attempting to beat Iggy at his own game. The shield cracked further and life decayed at a faster rate. Chanting the second spell, Iggy attempted to expedite the process as the life of the garden converged into the tree, which then transformed into a white light. Then in a flash the garden disappeared and the light molded into Penny's shape, and her naked form fell to the sand with the Spirit Wand falling shortly after her. The wand reconstructed itself back into its split polarity arrangement and immediately after, the black evil disappeared leaving no trace of its presence behind. Everything seemed back to normal, but Iggy felt concerned. That was the first time he had seen Koopa, the ancient ancestor of his entire lineage who first originated upon The Great Destroyer, Naru. Remembering the words of the Kappur back at Genlic some time ago, Iggy knew that it could be no one else as the UmNaru's minds could be read openly. And yet now he could not see the entity below Genlic with the wand restored to its former state. He remembered Lemmy's vision when the Wand of Marthos was destroyed...this must have been the same being.

Iggy's thoughts were interrupted when he heard people cheering behind him. Turning he realized that Penny was naked face down and immediately teleported her into the main chamber of Erzembar. He needed to focus on the most pressing needs and put what he saw aside for now. “Okay, you've seen enough of her. So food was a problem.” said Iggy. “Was, was a problem. Give me about half an hour and you will have food.”

“Can we eat it this time?” one cynical fellow asked.

“Yes, the food will be fully edible and nutritious for your bodily systems.” replied Iggy. “Now, I must activate Erzembar and heal Penny so...you'll know when I'm back.” With that, he teleported himself into the main chamber of Erzembar, which had done fairly well through the shift save for a pile of sand in one corner. The majority was as he left it however and Penny lay on an extended table built into the left wall. She was breathing, but otherwise was unconscious. Iggy fiddled with the medical mechanism and hit a few switches, but nothing worked. He realized that he needed to re-power Erzembar as soon as possible. With the pole shift now past, the Kermillion fault would only suffer aftershocks which would diminish in time. 

However, Iggy's thoughts turned to Larry and Mona and was immediately surprised by what he heard.

“Probably two of them.” said Larry, now almost fully healed.

“Well, that's all humans can do.” said Mona. “Usually it's one, rarely more than that. We're not powerhouses like you Koopa's are.”

“At least it worked.” said Larry. “You know Bowser tried it with Peach so many times and never succeeded. It probably has to do with that wand. But it's alright, I can wait for the rest of them.”

“I'm not a baby factory you know.” Mona folded her arms. Larry held up something with his hands. “Okay, fine.” Mona continued. “I mean, it's not a big deal when it's just two small eggs. It beats having an infant ripping open your love tunnel any day.”

“Your version of fighting a war, basically.” Larry commented. “I just need someone to inherit my legacy. Life is really short and my little fall showed me that, I'm just a mortal. Yeah, I don't say that much but that little event woke me up. I can't just slip out of this shell with no one to follow.”

“Hey, it's not just you.” Mona said. “I always wanted a daughter, so I couldn't say no when you popped the question. Even if she's not fully human, I can live with it. Plus there's something sweet about going down on a cripple.”

“See? Now you don't have a problem with it.” Larry pointed out. “It was too kinky to refuse.”

Mona huffed. “Well I'm not gonna lie...”

Iggy made a face. They were expecting? Was that even possible? Well it was now, even though Koopas and humans were known to be incompatible. Maybe the fact that Mona was the Blood Queen changed things since her DNA had been altered somewhat with Koopa genetics being inserted into her genome upon her ascension. More importantly, Iggy didn't know how much of a threat Koopa would be to Genlic, considering it lay below the shelter, never mind what it just did to Penny earlier. None of his other siblings knew yet, but it seemed Larry and Mona had made a choice regardless and Iggy reminded himself that they didn't know and needed to respect that. A thought came to him then: was Larry trying to force his hand? Iggy looked at Penny and wondered for a moment, but quickly shook his head. He didn't even know if Penny wanted kids or not. Regardless, he needed to get the place back up and running.

Teleporting back into the library, Iggy grabbed Erzembar and with his other hand rerolled the legendary scroll. “We need to start this place back up.” Iggy said. “I'm going to warp down to the core and I want you to tell me what needs to be repaired before I start it up.”

“Very well.” said Erzembar. “But be advised that the primary lifting mechanism for the main complex appears to be disabled and may require repair work.”

Iggy said nothing as he teleported himself inside the core of Erzembar. The circular door to the core remained open from his last visit, which felt like years ago. The room itself had survived with no major problems, save for a few small cracks in the walls. In the center, the pedestal that held the globe of Erzembar was also intact along with the power transceiver above it. However, all around this was a varied mess. The intricate matrix of crystals that surrounded the center was decoupled in places, with some crystals unsheathed from their holdings and lying about on the floor. Some remained intact and others were broken. The holders themselves largely looked passable, being fine and nimble in their construction.

“It seems many diodes must be replaced or repaired before full operation may commence.” said Erzembar. “Please place me within the radiance column in the center of the room, and I shall list what must be repaired.”

After doing this, Erzembar's globe glowed white and a few of the parts made movements throughout the room. “Main operational capacity offline: insufficient power input. Overall structural matrix sub optimal, but operational. Missing double terminated clear quartz on the following arrays: 1B, 3C, 3D, 4F, 5H, 5I, 2L. Charged replacement required. New zircon core needed for Matrix F. Arrays remain structurally stable, no changes in kyanite alloy makeup. No black spectrum signatures detected. Replacements located in Room 16XB as programmed during construction.”

Iggy teleported to 16XB and found himself surrounded by a variety of crystals and other minerals that lay ordered in rows alongside each wall. Above them on the ceiling were labels written in ancient; it seemed Erzembar had planned for every possible scenario. The quartz was by far the largest quantity of crystal or stone and they came in different cuts and different colors, some charged and some not. Iggy took seven of the clear charged quartz crystals and looked for a piece of zircon along a wall of assorted minerals. After a while, he found a piece of zircon among a small collection of them and teleported back into the core. Beginning with 1B, Iggy fastened the new quartz into the arrays and tightened their harnesses, and they each glowed to life upon successful installation. Locating Matrix F, Iggy wondered where the zircon replacement actually went.

“Upon the base of Matrix F is a removable cover.” Erzembar explained. “Please remove the 3rd zircon core and replace this with the new core.” On the floor was a central foundation for the arrays of Matrix F. Removing the cover, Iggy saw four zircon cores within, with the third sporting a crack down its middle. After replacing the broken core, the matrix came to life and so did the others as Iggy put the cover back on.

“Resynchronizing Matrix F diodes.” The matrix spun around the center separately from the others in some act of recalibration. “Synchronization complete. Resynchronizing all matrices.” This time, every matrix array spun about Iggy who ducked to avoid the numerous arrays spinning about him. “Resynchronization complete. All arrays and matrices operational. Please exit the core to begin radiance emissions.”

Iggy exited the core through the circular doorway on the other end and closed it behind him. Immediately, the circular dials on the door began to move around within the door's circumference and the tracks they traveled upon lit up along with various numbers and cryptics.

“Door sealed. Beginning radiance emissions.” There was the sound of pressure and the dials spun wildly about the door. “Re-pressurization complete. Reconnecting nodes. Mark 7A, Matrix 8F calibrated to function. Mark 7A, Matrix 3F calibrated to function...” It repeated in a similar manner, so Iggy decided to teleport back inside the main complex where Penny lay. The floor lights had come on, but the medical center had not. The start up sequence was far longer than Iggy had imagined and he tried to control his patience. The wall sconces lit up next, outlining the ancient murals in the rock. After a moment, the main lights finally came on along with his seat in the center of the room. A whir and the medical apparatus powered to life. Iggy wasted no time moving Penny's body into the restoration chamber which lay on its side next to the table.

“Here we go again...” Iggy said to himself as the chamber closed and concentric rings spun around her. The display indicated around 3 hours of restoration time. It was too much like the time after he had cast the God's Wrath spell upon the UmNaru. Back then, he never got a chance to explore all of Erzembar which he knew was much larger than the main chamber he now stood in. But with the pole shift now past, Iggy believed it was time to see the complex in its entirety.

“Hey! Erzembar!” Iggy called out. The large metallic device on the far wall lit to life. “Main chamber vocalization commenced. Yes, King Iggy.”

“It's time to see...all of you.” Iggy chuckled. “Let's activate the whole complex!” 

“This request would not be refused, but I would advise caution.” Erzembar replied. “The complex was built specifically for those in the white spectrum, therefore those in lesser vibrations may feel discomforting effects while in its vicinity. The only alleviations would be to increase the entities vibrational level or to leave for a new area. The other effect would be akin to attracting flies to a bright light.”

“I know the UmNaru would try something on this place.” said Iggy. “Whole complex or not, they would attack me anyway. Then you have the Bambesh Valley to the north which is a mess, and my brother ran off so I have to look after it. I think the sphere of this place would extend that far if everything was activated. It kind of stinks for those already here, but most were on a pilgrimage to help better themselves anyway...yeah, let's do it.”

“As you wish.” The main complex rumbled before a loud grinding sound was heard. “There is a problem with the second bulk lift.” Erzembar explained. “The main structure is unable to reach the surface as a result.”

“That's right...” Iggy muttered, remembering Erzembar's words from before. He guessed that he would need to teleport to the bowels of the place, something he hadn't done yet. Using his wand, his discerned with a planar vision a good spot to move to after scouting the area, then teleported there shortly after. He was met with a giant toothed track, with both sides notched inwards to prevent slippage of the wheel, but in this case it had done little to stop the wheel from leaving the track. However, the wheel was still barely on it which was good news as repairing it would be easier. Theoretically, all he would have to do is slide the wheel back into place, but the question was how. A thought about wind magic came to mind, but Iggy quickly dismissed the idea. This was at least several tons if not more. He needed Earth magic and another thought came: what would Morton do?

Iggy recalled what he knew about Earth magic and decided to put it to the test. Casting a Move Earth spell with his own wand, he directed it towards the wheel and tried to push it back into place with his hands. However, it only moved a few inches before the spell dissipated. He was going to need more force than that. Morton's mind space was filled with chaos with selfish intent and Iggy felt uncomfortable asking for his help. He did remember Morton's favorite weapon being the hammer, and Iggy's creative gears started turning.

Backing up, the Spirit King cast a conjure spell and moments later a gigantic hammer manifested before him, about 25 feet long. Iggy could barely lift the handle, never mind the head on the other end. Dropping it, he enchanted the head of the hammer with a medium strength Move Earth spell (the highest strength he knew from the top of his head) and immediately after cast an anti gravity spell on the hammer itself. Putting away the wand, Iggy picked up the gigantic hammer with ease and lined himself with his target. Swinging, he hit the wheel and a large metallic sound reverberated through the complex, but the wheel had moved about a foot this time around. This was going to work!

Iggy swung again and hit the wheel again, moving it about another foot. After several more hits, the wheel suddenly locked into place and all the wheels about him began to turn upwards. The problem seemed to be fixed. Dispelling the hammer, Iggy teleported back into the main chamber, successfully completing the strangest repair job of his life.

“No abnormalities detected.” reported Erzembar. “It seems the problem has been solved. Main complex now breaking the surface.”

Iggy's thoughts turned to the survivors outside. “Everyone stay close to the temple!” he telepathically relayed. “Things are coming out of the sand!” Indeed, only a few moments later and what appeared to be a sand dune suddenly rose out of the ground, climbing higher until the sand parted aside revealing the pyramidal complex of Erzembar rising back to the surface. Once the four obelisks surrounding the pyramid rose from the ground, the complex slowed until it fully stopped with a dull clang.

“Most systems report operational.” said Erzembar. “Several systems report caution for recommended repairs, however this is not necessary at this time. The thought sphere is disabled due to the adjustment that took place prior to the pole shift.”

Iggy climbed up onto his seat in the middle of the room and fiddled with a few controls. Indeed, the sphere below him was just as he left it: shattered and broken. He missed that thing. “I'll fix that later. Now, let's bring up the whole complex!”

“Very well. Restarting full surfacing procedure.” In front of Iggy, a series of holographs appeared at various locations in the air and each were seen to be moving upward at their own pace. Looking through the walls, Iggy saw sand rising in accordance with the holographs, as if he were giving the desert sand dunes overnight. But the sand broke and many buildings were revealed, some square, some rectangular, some circular. The architecture seemed similar to the surrounding ruin: old rock with numerous carvings and depictions, and many of the walls retained their color writing as if it had been buried only yesterday. All of the doors and windows were sealed shut with metallic looking doors and devices. Courts and walkways rose, along with long stone light posts with each housing a singular crystal inside. Dozens of buildings rose one after the other; it was as if Erzembar had built a small city for himself and his followers to escape the evils of the world.

“Outer vibratory network activating.” Erzembar said. Large crystals, some 10 feet high and stationed around the courtyards of buildings were seen blinking to life around the complex, emitting strong vibrations in the white magic spectrum. “Powering Blocks 1 through 20.” A chunk of the complex suddenly lit to life. “Powering Blocks 21 through 50.” The same thing occurred up until Block 200. “Power grid nominal, no malfunctions detected. Recalibrating Shrine of the Creator harmonics. Octave set. Recalibrating healing temple harmonics. Default frequency set to 432 Hz. Detecting current planet core resonance...ratio set. Residential complexes report two malfunctions in the window mechanisms. All other building mechanics pass inspection. Erzembar complex now activated. For errors, please ask for specifics. Would you like to activate the Global Crystalline Network?”

“What...is that?” Iggy asked.

“The Global Crystalline Network is a series of 8 to 10 foot crystals situated around the world for the purpose of negating the black spectrum in any given area. It provides a balance to the often provocative UmNaru and their quest for global dominance. It is a passive force not meant for direct conflict, but may be used as such.”

“No.” said Iggy, “That would also tip the scales. People need a balanced environment right now to choose their orientation. I'll use it when I have to, but for now leave it mostly off...except for detecting enemy movement. Do not have them react to anything. Though I wonder...do the crystals underneath Lemmy's Castle have anything to do with this?”

“Yes, the castle of Beneth is a part of this network.” replied Erzembar.

Iggy hummed. “Good to know, but my answer is still no.”

“As you wish.” said Erzembar. Iggy sighed. “Okay, now the seeds. It looks like the garden will need some work but they can be grown in here for now I believe.”

“That is correct.” said Erzembar. “A greenhouse lies just below the seed vault for your use. Incoming weather analysis indicates a static pattern of drizzle throughout this latitude for the foreseeable future, therefore an indoor garden is advised.”

“I'll have to show them around.” Iggy muttered. Looking towards their group mind space, he watched their reactions to the new crystal network. “I'll go talk to them now.” “Hey guys!” he telepathically relayed before teleporting to the Temple of Marthos, now surrounded by buildings of various kinds. “Thanks for being patient. I have the seeds, but the weather report looks bad. Basically there's going to be a lot of drizzle for a while. But! Erzembar has an indoor greenhouse to use so we can use that instead. Now, all this!” Iggy spread out his arms. “There's a few buildings that count as residential areas, so you can live there if you want. There's also rooms inside Erzembar that can be used now that the pole shift is over. Yes, there was some damage done, many of the spots are minor. I did fix a major problem so the whole place can at least move now. You might feel angry that I didn't choose Erzembar over Marthos, and its because there's a fault line that runs nearby the main complex...” He pointed to the pyramid behind him. “...and even if it's minor, I didn't want to risk it.”

“Should've went in there in the first place.” said one koopa, clearly irritated. “I don't know why you had us drown in this other pyramid.”

Iggy nodded. The sphere of white magic that now radiated over the whole area was beginning to have an effect. Considering it contained the true vibrations of love, the reaction was not very surprising.

“Considering the damage that Erzembar was dealt even before the shift, I decided not to risk it.” Iggy said. 

“Except more people wouldn’t have died if we went to Erzembar.” the koopa continued.

“I'll be frank with you.” Iggy started. “People were going to die regardless-”

“Except you messed up and didn't put us in the safest spot.” he said, cutting Iggy off. “So who's gonna pay for my girl now, huh? Cause that wasn't my fault!”

“If you want to point fingers instead of trying to survive, then that's your choice.” said Iggy. “But it's helping no one.”

“You've barely helped us since we arrived!” came another shout. 

“I gave you a garden and some seeds. You came with your own. The garden got washed out, but I have some more. What's the problem?” Iggy asked, getting annoyed.

“We've barely had enough to eat! Why can't we get a little more food?” asked a purple toad.

“Oh, excuse me?” Iggy started. “Did you expect this to be a McKoopa's where I just give you food to eat free of charge? A survival site is not a place to get free hot meals. If you came here expecting things to be easy and soft and comfortable then you can pack your bags and get out. I'm not here to cater to your every need, I'm here to give you a roof over your heads and to help get you started on fending for yourself. I did all of this. If you want to make your own colony and be called king then by all means, leave. I'd rather have constructive people here anyway.”

Considering the clenched teeth around him, Iggy guessed the radiance field was working its wonders. Not all were irritated however and other shouts came for everyone to calm down. “Guys, we have clean running water.” said another toad. “In the middle of the desert, and you're complaining! We have a whole town to ourselves and you're complaining! Why don't we do our parts and make this an awesome place to live...”

“Once this idiot pays for all the deaths he caused!” the koopa continued, not relenting.

“I'm not going to make up for something I did not cause.” Iggy responded. Immediately, the koopa pulled a knife and rushed towards the Spirit King, who simply held out his hand and unleashed a purify spell on him, similar to a much watered down God's Wrath spell. The koopa cried in agony as his body burned from all his hatred, and from his depolarization from the selfish orientation.

“You are obviously service to self.” Iggy stated. “You are leaving this place, now.” Others however stepped in for him and tried to attack, but Iggy responded in like kind and they all collapsed to the ground screaming and clutching their heads. “The service to self will be purged from this region.” Iggy declared. “Unfortunately, this conflict was inevitable.”

“You're just going to let them go?” Merlin asked.

“Of course. This isn't the place for them.” Iggy said. “But they have that other choice, to try and attack me again. If they try that, then I won't be so nice next time.” He turned to them. “These are your choices: to leave and never return or to attack me and probably die. I won't shoot your tail if you do leave, so the choice is yours.” Iggy ended the spell on them, and many immediately got up and bolted into the desert. But a handful also got up and lunged themselves toward Iggy with knives and even a sword, but Iggy stepped aside and unleashed a more powerful version of his spell from earlier, and this time they cried as a blast of whiteness melted their skins away and all evil within them was purged. They dropped to the ground, now withered corpses with much of their flesh burned away.

“We'll get the bodies.” a red toad said.

“No, I got it.” Iggy insisted, before unleashing a river of white flame that ravaged the corpses in its wake, devouring them all. “Not even their ashes will remain.”

“Good, we can finally get this food thing going.” said the red toad.

“Is there a reason why irritation has increased for some people?” Merlin asked.

“I activated a radiance field in the white spectrum.” Iggy explained. “The service to self hate that. Those who remain undecided might feel irritated too, but the choice is with them. This is going to be a place for those who dwell in the light, or service to others and even the undecided might find it to their liking, though I imagine most would not. As long as we live from the heart and focus on what's in front of us and take action, we should be fine. Now then, I'll show the rest of you where the garden in Erzembar is. There's a teleportation system around here...come walk with me and I'll show you.” Iggy turned and walked down one of the new paths followed by a large group of people. 

“So what kind of garden is it?” a blue toad asked this time.

“It's a hydroponic.” Iggy said. “There's a large aquifer beneath Erzembar that connects the rest of the complex up with water pipes. The main complex has several natural evaporators so the water is pure.”

“So there's a mechanism that evaporates the water from the aquifer?” the blue toad asked.

“Right, and that's collected and piped throughout Erzembar for various things.” said Iggy. “I noticed that these buildings are piped as well, so I'll have to find the evaporators for that.”

“I have some gardening techniques I'll tell you guys about when we get there.” said a green yoshi girl coming up behind them.

“Does it includes berries?” the blue toad asked and everyone went into a conversation about gardening, leaving Iggy to himself. He sighed, glad that the service to self were finally gone from the region. Now he needed to show the survivors the basics in survival and self sustainability. He was not as good as Larry or Roy even, but he would do his part at the very least. And after everything was settled, there was everyone else to take care of around the world. Many did need his help, including many in his own family, but the problem was time. Being in such a position, time was always in short supply.


	48. The Many Faces of Koopa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The once tightly wrapped threads of Ludwig spin in a million directions.  
> Within the darkness, a trial of history is undertaken.

Reaching the top of a large mound of dirt, Ludwig Von Koopa frowned at what he witnessed not far in the distance. His castle, now considerably closer than before was being surrounded by a multitude of people with a loud uproar of shouts and cries around them. With the castle crashed on an angle, he knew there would be no quick escape from this mess and that his primary plan of flying away would not work. Despite the situation, Kylie Koopa had not messaged him of her dilemma since he set out and wondered why.

"I hope mom is alright." Elizabeth said, interrupting his thoughts. "Shouldn't we get her out of there?" It seemed someone had already made up their mind. The mob was not far from a long caravan that stretched from the southwest to the northeast in front of them, with many passing by looking at the spectacle. Crossing the crowd was not an option. They would have to teleport into the castle, and considering the number of children with him who did not understand how the spell worked, that would be difficult to accomplish. Furnishing out his own wand, Ludwig attempted to contact his wife. "This is Ludwig." he said. "What is your current status?"

The face of a worried Kylie popped up above the wand. "They're all around me." said Kylie. "I'm...too scared to try."

Ludwig sighed. "We shall attempt to rescue your person despite the growing danger. They have not penetrated the outer hall as of yet, therefore this strategy should be successful without the need for conflict. It is unfortunate the castle must be abandoned, but in this scenario there is no choice."

Kylie said nothing but continued to stare at him with fearful eyes. A realization entered Ludwig's mind then. "This circumstance is of my doing and I must apologize. Being the Queen of the Earth, you are bearing the brunt of my burden, a weight unearned and undesired by yourself. Again, I will attempt a rescue and see what to do to fix my errors. In the small chance that the operation does not carry out, we will head towards Lemmy's Castle and bargain."

"Hey..." Kylie started. "Whatever happens, I love you."

Ludwig smiled. "Despite my faults, I love you as well. I will see you soon." Her face fizzled out and he was met with the rioting crowd once more. "We cannot cross this caravan of migrants." Ludwig said, turning to his children.

"Why not?" Shirley asked.

"Because of my negative history with the population I was responsible for." Ludwig explained. "This is why a large mob has congregated outside of the castle, and to look for provisions such as food I suspect. Therefore, we must teleport into the castle as a group which, in light of none of you knowing the sufficient knowledge to do so, will be greatly taxing upon my person as I must effectively teleport 6 individuals at once. To attempt to alleviate this great difficulty, please listen and follow my instructions." He showed his wand to his children. "Take the wands that I have given you." The five did as they were told. "Luckily, teleportation does not require a verbal incantation to execute. Instead, imagine with your mind that you are within the library upon the 4th level of the castle. As you are doing this, twirl your wands in this fashion." He performed a demonstration by cycling the wand head vertically. "If done correctly, your thought complex should manifest sufficiently with the aid of the spell I shall perform momentarily with the inclusion of a doubling buffer. Let us hope that I am capable of casting the teleportation spell 6 times simultaneously."

With that, he began to utter an incantation under his breath as his wand's gem glowed blue in response. His children, more or less began to twirl their wands, each thinking of their destination. They heard each of their names being called out, then with a cry they all disappeared from the mound of dirt. Inside the castle library, 6 blue lights manifested in random locations before they revealed Ludwig and company, with most of whom in a slight daze. There was a cry and Shirley was seen falling through many layers of bookshelves until they collapsed onto the floor with her. "Ow." 

"Alas, you are much like your mother." Ludwig said, dismayed.

"Well, you said think of the library." Shirley said as she tried to explain herself. "So I thought of books because they have books."

"Always imagine a flat surface, no matter the destination." Ludwig explained, now looking at the rest of them. Trent had landed on a bean bag chair while the rest of them landed somewhere on the floor, with some on their feet and other's on their side. Trent got up and tried to help Samantha off of the floor. Ludwig had done a passing performance, far from perfect but it got the job done. 

"This is acceptable for now." said Ludwig to himself, speaking of his and their performance. But a dull thud that shook the castle interrupted him. Opening the door to the library, Ludwig walked across the hall and peaked out a window facing the front of the castle. Down below, he witnessed people launching fireballs at the castle, presumably from fire flowers, shaking the hull with each hit. It was an attitude he knew too well, a mentality that could not be controlled until the desperation within them subsided. "We will find Kylie then promptly depart."

"What about Samantha's leg?" Elizabeth asked.

"There is no time to visit the medical bay at the moment." Ludwig said. "If you do find a medical kit within one of these halls, then I suggest taking that for the interim."

"Okay." she replied, not liking the answer but going with it anyway. Ludwig again summoned Kylie with his wand. "We have arrived. Where are--" The sound of breaking glass was heard below, cutting him off. Voices were heard down below. "Where are you?" he growled.

"In the bedroom." she finally replied.

"Elizabeth, take Samantha up to your mother's bedroom. Have Shirley help you with finding suitable disguises within our wardrobe. Trent, you are charged with their protection---"

Another crash and the voices suddenly intensified. Ludwig guessed they were only one floor away from them now. He had to think fast. There was not enough time to try and teleport everyone out again, especially with Kylie bad at it herself. But that didn't mean she couldn't do it. "Go, all of you! I will hold them off for as long as possible. Tell your mother that if I do not return before she hears voices approaching, that she must use her teleportation abilities and travel to Lemmy's Castle."

Elizabeth and Trent helped carry Samantha towards their parents bedroom, but Shirley clutched her wand. "No, I want to help."

"Yeah, I'm no wuss." Xavier claimed. "I want to help get rid of these guys after you. They don't know who they're messing with."

Ludwig inhaled. Straight from Bowser, no doubt. "Your mother will not be pleased."

"I don't care!" Xavier reiterated. "They want to destroy the castle, so we should destroy them!" 

"...very well. If you want to fight, then I'll show you how to fight." Ludwig said, changing his mind. "However, what may occur to you will stem from your decision to stay and you will be ultimately responsible for your own outcome."

"Yeah I know." Xavier muttered. "I said I don't care. They should pay for attacking us." 

Ludwig turned to Shirley. "Please do as I say Shirley and join---" But Ludwig never finished as a group of thugs flooded out of a stairwell and seeing the three, rushed towards them. Using his wand, Ludwig unleashed a powerful blue spectrum spell that blasted a straight line gust of wind toward them, knocking almost 20 of them off their feet and into the back wall behind them. 

"Your wand relies on imaginary constructs." explained Ludwig. "For instance, to construct a shield, merely think it." A fireball was shot from the crowd and it hit a magical shield formed by Ludwig moments later. "Shirley, go now." Ludwig commanded as Xavier practiced shooting his own fireballs as more people came out of the stairwell. But Shirley hesitated, unable to move as her conscious was split and couldn't decide what to do. "They're up here!" cried some in the crowd and more footsteps were heard coming up an adjacent stairwell. 

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Trent had managed to carry Samantha to the fifth floor when they heard cries below them. Within the throng of voices, Elizabeth heard the screaming voice of Shirley and stopped in her tracks.

"I got to help her." she resolved to herself, noting the bedroom was not far off from them now. Trent nodded, and Elizabeth headed off in the other direction, deciding to make way to a balcony of windows in the floor's study a few rooms down. Reaching it, she saw the windows were broken and lay shattered all over the floor. Below her was a large number of people scuffling about and Elizabeth hid from sight immediately, thinking how she could help with her wand. Peering back around, she saw Shirley being roughly handled by the crowd as she screamed and kicked in a vain attempt to free herself of her captors. She was moved towards the front of the hall, then a magic blast came out of view knocking many of them down. With a few more cries a struggle ensured, until Elizabeth could see her father Ludwig grappled by both arms as he and Xavier next to him tried to break free.

"Take their wands!" came a voice, and Ludwig's own wand was wrested from him by several hands, who in their poorer state smiled with glee as their vengeance came with rewards. But Elizabeth couldn't watch it anymore, and slowly creeping forward she pulled out her own wand and prepared to try to attack them, if attacking was anything like how she teleported that was.

"Well, look who it is!" came another voice, and a face worked through the crowd until it appeared right in front of Ludwig. "Don't remember me, do you? That guy you threw out of the army after Bowser died. Yeah, Jr. Troopa. Now you got it. Oh wait, you aren't king anymore, are you? Can't drive the little people under your claw anymore, can you? Serves you right for treating us like shit." 

Ludwig struggled but there were too many hands on him, and one of them had his own wand pointed at himself which calmed him down. "Given your recklessness, it was inevitable." Ludwig managed to mutter.

"Huh? What was that?" Jr. Troopa leaned an ear towards Ludwig for a moment, then suddenly twirled and punched Ludwig in the side of the head, and to his unexpected surprise the Koopaling fell unconscious. "Hah! Looks like King asshole just gave up without a fight, boys!" There was a cheer as Xavier struggled in vain to free himself. "Take them to the camp! We'll bring them home first light tomorrow!"

At that moment, a bright yellow fireball soared overhead before it knocked straight into Jr. Troopa, sending him back into the crowd. Hands quickly pulled him to the back of the hall as others pointed to the fifth floor overlooking them. "It's one of his kids! Let's get her."

"Just kill her. Make the asshole suffer." suggested another and most seemed to be in agreement as various magical blasts and fireballs soared toward her. Elizabeth dodged as best as she could with the broken glass scattered nearby as she managed to pick off a few more. But Xavier and Shirley were moved towards the back of the hall and she could not hear what they were trying to yell at her. Eventually, they disappeared into the stairwell surrounded by rings of moving bodies. A moment later, and a large yellow and white fireball was launched from Jr. Troopa's direction and Elizabeth tried to deploy a magic shield, but suddenly she felt her legs being dragged down and she fell to the ground as the fireball soared over her head. It blasted into the ceiling, which sent a cascade of wood and metal straight on top of her and covering most of the view to the floor below. Steel girders were heard ricketing down the stairwell and one person cursed to himself. "Fuck! Now we can't get up there! Good going dumbass!"

"Dude, shut the fuck up. I just killed one of his girls." said another, a heavy breasted Koopa.

"Better to kill his sons, and wipe out the whole line." another suggested.

"But they're up there. King asshole was distracting us." Jr. Troopa said, finally recovering. "Clear that pile in the stairwell and let me know when you're broken through. The rest of us are going to the kitchen. It's time for a meal with the royal family!" He laughed and the majority followed him back down the stairwell where Ludwig and two of his kids were being held hostage as the group prepared a meal.

Elizabeth came to and found herself lying on her side surrounded by metal girders and debris on top of her. But something tugged at her leg, and she looked behind her and saw her little brother Trent with a glowing Magikoopa wand, seemingly trying to keep the pile from crushing them. 

"Trent, why did you--" But Trent slapped a hand over her mouth and shook his head. Making a motion with his head, he slowly crawled out of the pile in reverse and only stopped when Elizabeth didn't follow him. She muttered to herself, trying to figure out why Trent had stopped her but eventually followed suit, carefully trying to not hit anything that might hinder the operation. 

After a few minutes, she managed to crawl out and Trent helped her to her feet. The ceiling had collapsed entirely throughout much of the southern part of the fifth level, covering the majority of the windows that had lay before them earlier. Trent gently eased the spell and the pile settled to the ground with some noise.

"Huh?" came a voice from below. "Eh, nothing." it said, immediately changing its mind. "How's the stairs look?"

"Another 5 or 10 minutes." came a shout, heard below and across the hall simultaneously. Elizabeth wobbled, her leg having been injured by broken glass but was still usable. Trent crept to the doorway and looked at the stairwell, still blockaded by several pieces of the ceiling. Looking back, Trent took Elizabeth's hand and guided her across the hall, hardly making a sound as they headed back towards their mother's bedroom. But Elizabeth noticed Trent beginning to breathe heavily and it became clear that he was pushing himself to try to save her. His health meter, a silver band attached to his left wrist suddenly started to beep and Trent slowed down. He had crossed his threshold limits and his blood pressure was skyrocketing.

"Trent, breathe!" Elizabeth whispered as she forced him to slow down. Trent stood in place forcibly taking in deep breaths, eying the meter on his wrist. He had pushed himself too far and leaned against the wall to support himself. His blood pressure slowly dropped as he remembered the limits he needed to stay within, even in a situation like this. Seeing his breathing stabilize, Elizabeth went on ahead to their parents bedroom now only a few steps away. The door opened automatically and she stepped inside, only to find it empty.

"Mom?" she called out, but no response came. Mom and Sam had left already. Maybe they heard the voices coming from the stairwell or the ceiling collapse? Trent walked up and leaned against the door frame with a hand over his chest. "What do we do now?" Elizabeth asked, turning back to him. 

Trent looked at the closet doors at the other end of the room, which then immediately opened up revealing a large wardrobe. Elizabeth merely watched as a seeming pair of invisible fingers looked through each piece until stumbling across a set of brown cloaks, some long and some short. With his hand, he took two short cloaks out from the closet and laid them across the bed. "Wow Trent, you're amazing at magic!" Elizabeth said. "How did you do that?"

Trent shrugged, then saw a colorful notebook on the vanity with another, made of black leather and gold pages sitting next to it. Taking both, he opened up the second and began writing inside of it as Elizabeth put her cloak on. Finished, he handed her the journal as he did the same in turn. "It's the first time I tried that." Elizabeth said aloud. "I've been interested in magic ever since we teleported." She went silent for a moment. "That's how we're getting out of here, same way we got in! Should've figured that out."

"We're almost through!" came a cry, and Trent immediately pocketed the journal and with his new cloak, quickly walked out of the room and took a left. Elizabeth merely followed, trying to guess as to what he had in mind. The stairwell was still blocked but much of the debris was gone and a pair of arms were seen trying to hack their way through the remainder. The two headed towards the northern end of the castle with Trent walking slower than he did the previous time, checking his meter to eye his progress. At the end of the hall was a doorway, and the Koopalings closed the door behind them upon entering. It was another balcony with windows overlooking the northern sections of the Mushroom World, largely devoid of people. It seemed most if not all of the intruders came from the southern end of the castle, the section that had crashed during the shift. 

Trent took out his wand and pointed towards a range of hills not too far in the distance. Elizabeth nodded, and taking out her wand they began to go through the routine their father had taught them before.

"We're through!" came a cry, and not a moment later both Trent and Elizabeth disappeared in flashes of light. Outside of the castle about a mile into the distance, Elizabeth reappeared behind a small hillside, dazed for a moment by her surroundings. Coming to, she saw that Trent had teleported about 50 feet away from her on the same hillside. As he made his way towards her, Elizabeth couldn't help but peek over the hillside but immediately hid again after seeing faces walking within the room they were just in. "Stay low!" Elizabeth called out and Trent did so as he drew nearer. "They're in the room now!" After arriving, Trent plopped himself down as he controlled his breathing. They remained there for some time as Elizabeth was too nervous to try and look again. Eventually she remembered a question she wanted to ask before.

"Why did you pull me down when I was trying to save the others?" she asked him. Taking out his new journal, he quickly jotted down an answer and showed it to her. "Because that fireball would have killed you." it said. 

"But I had a shield up." Elizabeth countered, prompting Trent to write out another response. "It was really powerful. You see what it did to the ceiling? Plus it was aimed at your head."

"Okay, I didn't know that last part." Elizabeth admitted. "But I could have countered that if I had more time. I was trying to save them you know..."

Trent shook his head as he wrote out yet another response. "There was too many of them. We needed more help. It's better to find them later after we find mom."

Elizabeth sighed. "I guess so. But..." She frowned and looked at the ground. "Leaving them like that, who knows what they will do to them..."

"Against all of them, we will be victims too if we tried." Trent wrote out.

"You're right." Elizabeth muttered, finally conceding. She had a desire to help, but everything else was going against her. As much as she wanted to follow them, Trent was right and it was best to find mom first.

"So I guess mom went to Lemmy's Castle then." Elizabeth said aloud, getting up and looking back at the castle. The faces were gone, the room now empty. To her left was the long caravan of people traveling northeastwards, all headed to the same location. "We should go there then. I don't see her anywhere so that's probably where she went. Come on." Trent got up and passing across the hill they headed to the East, climbing over mounds of dirt and debris and the ruins of a few buildings. In reality, they were climbing over the fringes of the original Koopai settlement, made before they had been hatched. Little of it remained now save for broken brick, though Trent thought he saw a tent perching out of the bottom of a mound of dirt as he walked past.

After climbing another hill they could see the caravan was now much closer, only a few yards away. Sliding down a dirt mound, they approached the moving line of people and looked at them, hoping to find a free ride to the Castle. Most seemed to be walking, but many were also in wheeled vehicles powered by a variety of animals, and some were still powered by fuel left unspent until that moment. One truck passed by them with a large furnace on it's bed surrounded by piles of wood, presumably powered by wood gas, but the children could not make out its purpose and left it as an idle curiosity. Most did not seem to notice them, too immersed with their problems with physical injury or were too mentally incapacitated to respond. Many that passed seemed to be barely alive at all as they marched past with dried blood on their clothes and a lifeless stare in their eyes.

As the children walked alongside them, a long wagon powered by two gargantua troopas eventually pulled up next them and slowed. "Hey you two!" the driver called out, a middle aged Koopa Troopa with a cowboy hat. "You look lost! Where you headed off to?"

"Lemmy's Castle." Elizabeth replied.

"Well that's where we're all going." the driver said. "Bambesh Valley is a whole mess now, gangs everywhere, looting, you name it. We're all going to Lemmy's. If you guys want a lift we've got plenty of room in the back." 

"Thank you so much sir!" she replied as she walked to the back of the wagon and climbed aboard. Helping up Trent, they found themselves surrounded by a variety of people and sat down on one of the benches that lined either wall with their heads down. Nobody said anything to each other as the horrors that they all went through were still fresh on their minds. A teenage Koopa at the far end yelped in pain as a makeshift nurse tried to stop bleeding from his leg, now dripping onto the floor. Compelled, Trent got up and moved to the back of the wagon, trying to maintain balance when the wagon ran over a series of potholes.

"Thanks, just hold it up like that." the nurse commanded as she grabbed a dirty roll of gauze nearby. "Do you have training?"

"I'm sorry, he can't talk." Elizabeth said to her from the other end. "I talk for him."

"That's okay. An extra set of hands is all I need for now." the nurse replied. Elizabeth slumped back and sighed. 

"May I ask how you got all the way out here on your own?" asked an elderly women in front of her. "This place is violent, and dangerous." 

"Well, I was with my mom, and we were supposed to go to Lemmy's together. But then this mob broke into our home and they started attacking my dad and my brother and sister. So I went to help them. My mom didn't do anything about it, I don't know why. But...I tried to stop them. I think they almost killed me, but he saved me at the last second." Elizabeth looked at Trent who was positioning the injured Koopa's leg. "We went back but mom was already gone, so it's just us."

"He's an angel." the old lady said. "Don't lose him. There's very few people like that in the world left. Though they say where we're going, the people there are much nicer, but I've been looking at this line and it's a real potpourri of folks so I think there's going to be a few rumples to smooth out. Lot's of bad men around these parts. It's because with things the way they are, the animal in them comes out and you get to see what a Koopa really is. I keep hearing stories of that former king, Ludwig who got attacked by a gang and dragged out of his own castle."

"Yeah I heard too." Elizabeth muttered, looking down.

"That's been traveling fast through these lines." the old lady continued. "He's got some bad karma and he's gonna pay up. I don't think you're old enough to know all the things he's done. It's a long story though." She yawned. "And I'm still tired." It wasn't the first time Elizabeth had heard her father being thought of as evil, and it certainly wasn't the last.

About an hour past until the carriage came to a halt. "We're here!" the driver yelled and immediately people got up and filed out of the wagon. After helping Trent off, Elizabeth took a look around and saw they had stopped upon a tall hill which overlooked what appeared to be Lemmy's Castle in the distance, covered by thick chunks of crumbling ice. And in between was a large vale that was dotted by thousands of tents with people coming and going in many directions. Many had buckets that they carried with them to the melting ice sheets to place large chunks of ice into for drinking later. Drinking water had become scarce, and the news of the melting ice sheets had brought troves of people to the site. 

Trent pulled at her arm, snapping Elizabeth out her gaze. She followed her brother into the camp and wondered what he had in mind as the sun began to set over the horizon.

* * *

King Roy Koopa stopped in his tracks once he saw a small party of about 20 camped just outside the entrance to the Valley of the Koopas, a narrowly cut valley through the black rock of the volcanic range that surrounded the Old Kingdom. They were desperate, he knew that but now his load was even more burdened. He already knew what they were going to ask, and he already knew that a few more people were going to die that day. Unless they were battle hardened warriors or skilled tacticians, they had little chance of survival even with the King of the Koopa's present. Still, as the Earth King responsible for the Koopa's of the world, he needed to do his duty.

His son Vincent pulled his cloak back as the area had become warmer. His paws had begun to sweat inside of his gloves, but there was no way he could take them off now that a group of people had spotted them. A few raced up to them in awe, seemingly not believing what they were seeing. "But I thought you left!" said one, a yellow Koopa Troopa. 

"Yeah, I came back." Roy responded. "And now I'm outta here. I'm not coming back to this place again."

"You going through the Valley, sir?" he asked. "Cause...we could use the protection. The old legend and all that."

"You could use a lot more than dat." Roy remarked. "Can you fight? What do you use? Your fists? Your shell? Magic? You gotta have something or they will wipe you out." The rest had come out of their tents by this point and had crawled up to them as they spoke. "I'm going in there and you can follow if you want. But you gotta take care of yourself. I ain't holding hands. The King of the Koopas can pass, that's me. But the rest of you are targets. This won't be like Lemmy's little charade. I don't have a magic shield like dat. If you can do magic, you might live."

"Dude, what choice do we have?" a Monty Mole blurted out. "We're gonna freeze our asses off if we don't try, so neither way looks good." Roy frowned. 

"What about to the east? Isn't there a road through the crags that way?" Vincent asked, remembering what he saw on a map back in the library.

The Monty Mole shook his head. "The road to Sarasaland is wiped out. The sea is frozen, harbor was washed out too. The pipes are all destroyed. This is the only way out. It's either freeze here and die, or try to go through the valley."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Roy asked, turning to him.

"Cause it's out of our way if we're going to Lemmy's." Vincent responded. Roy merely rolled his eyes and turned back around. "And we'd run out of food anyway." Vincent added, noting their already diminishing supply. 

"Hey, who is this?" asked the Troopa.

"This is my son, Vincent Koopa." Roy said. "He's the Crown Prince. Treat him nice." Vincent's face twisted at that. What?

"I didn't know you had children! My apologies your majesty!" the Troopa replied, playing his respect game for the monarch. 

"Fine. We're going in there now, so get ready." Roy said impatiently, walking towards the entrance.

"Yes sir!" The two ran back off to their camp to pack away everything they could. Vincent followed his father to the entrance where a large stainless steel sign was seen bolted into the rock face to his right. "Only the King of the Koopa's may pass." it read in weathered letters. "WARNING: This path is fatal. Do not attempt with your life!" Below this was etched a Koopa skull, denoting its danger. Vincent sighed, wondering for the first time if this a good way after all, but shook it off. There were no other choices.

When their camp was packed away, they began their trek into the valley, which had become littered with large boulders and small landslides from the devastation brought about by the pole shift. Roy noticed the misplaced eagerness of his new companions as if it were a luxury to be escorted through the most dangerous path of the Old Kingdom. It was a privileged brought about by chance, yet it seemed the old hand holding mentality was still in place even after all that had occurred up until then. Denial was still in full swing.

"Man, this is going to be easy!" explained a naive Koopa with a baseball cap for the Bloopers. Roy said nothing, having already made his point earlier. They were already talking about him and ignoring the danger ahead of them. He snapped his left finger and Vincent walked up from behind. "What you got against them?" he asked his son.

"I found a few undead spells in the scrolls I took." Vincent replied. "They should, um, die again if I use it. But it's black magic, and I feel it all over this place."

"You feel it? What does that mean?" asked Roy.

"They all have a different feel to them." Vincent explained, talking about the colors of the magic spectrum. "This place is dark, there's a lot of fear. That's what black magic feels like. A lot of hopelessness."

"Some of them will be hopeless soon." Roy muttered, glancing at their companion's casual conversation. He guessed that was no coincidence now that he knew the valley was steeped in back magic. Many of the tombs were already surrounded by it but it sounded like the UmNaru were trying to pull their strings again. Speaking of tombs...

"What do ya know..." Roy stopped immediately with Vincent a step behind him. The others took a moment before they realized their leader had halted and they turned to him. "What is it?" asked the Koopa Troopa.

"We're here." Roy merely said, pointing to the ridges above them. Broken stone pathways were seen crawling against the rocks, all leading to doors in the Crags surrounded by rustic carved archways. Most of the doors were broken open or missing, their long history now lost to time. From his current vantage point, Roy could already see six of them with other paths flowing upwards into the distance. "Get yer shit out." he commanded.

"But there's nothing here!" The Koopa Troopa mocked. "Just a bunch of tombs."

"Probably just...oh wait." One of them caught notice of several dry bones clawing their way out of the ground above them. Some wore uniforms of unknown origin, while others wore rusting plate mail from the not so distant past. 

"There's only a few though. It shouldn't be too bad." commented a Monty Mole.

"Start moving." Roy commanded. "Stay straight. Do not look at them." But he knew that one of them would look regardless and prepared himself for combat. With some courage they moved forward on their path, with many more broken pathways becoming visible to them as they traveled. Soon both sides of the valley were dotted with nothing but mausoleums of the dead in various states of decay. Many more undead crawled out of the ground from their presence and some were seen stumbling towards them. "Holy crap!" The Troopa exclaimed. "There's already like, 40 or 50 crawling out..."

Roy snorted, not surprised. "The kings had whole armies buried with them." he said, and watched their faces grow pale immediately. "We're in the 14th Dynasty now. 16th King." He thumbed to himself. But the others hardly paid attention to him as they couldn't help but look at the growing hoard coming against them. "Fuck! What do we do?" a Paratroopa asked. "I lost count at 70 something. Gotta be over hundred now."

His answer came in the form of arrows, shot by former bowmen of the early middle ages. Laced with blue spectrum magic, they all found their target and the Paratroopa fell to the ground dead.

"Run!" Roy shouted, and began sprinting forward. Vincent followed, preparing a spell with his wand as large multitudes of undead swarmed towards them from both sides. Many carried rustic swords, but others were more exotic as the history of the Koopa race seamlessly blended into one moment. Arrows flew past Roy's head into the Koopa Troopa's skull next to him, and he fell behind him dead. "Leave them! Keep running!" he called to the others. He knew that none of the undead would hurt him, but everyone else was a target. Vincent blocked a volley of arrows with a shield around him, and immediately after sent a wave of darkness into the mountainside to his left, and bones exploded in every direction. But right behind them charged a large group of dry bones in full plate mail head and all, with long broadswords at the ready. Vincent chanted a spell he learned with the UmNaru, and suddenly his wand transformed into a glowing sword of black metal, and he started hewing through them as he struggled to stay on the road. Roy himself had no choice but to start fighting to protect those around him, unleashing a powerful Earth spell that sent many undead around them to the ground.

"There's too many of them!" said the other Troopa, barely holding them off. He didn't see a group of undead on the ridge to the left, wearing exotic desert like outfits and scarves around their heads. Unsheathing glowing purple knives from their holsters, they threw them at the party below and Roy immediately shielded himself and Vincent from the onslaught. But the Troopa was outside his range and he was hit with several of them. He fell to the ground with tears in his eyes. "My legs! I can't feel my legs!" he cried.

It was paralysis magic, but Roy had no time to help as he tried to keep the hoard from pouncing on his remaining son who was now clearly struggling to survive. The poor Troopa was quickly overcome by swordsmen from his right flank and Roy continued to press forward. It had become every Koopa for himself and they needed to get out of there as soon as possible. Ahead of them, he saw the undead flooding into the road and knew that his son was in real trouble now. They needed to find another way through them. Looking about, Roy found the party of 20 were simply gone, the remainder left behind them in the sea of dry bones and it was just them now. On the ridge to his right, he noticed one tomb that was closed shut with no undead guarding the entrance or coming from the area. That was the first one that was seen to be visibly locked on the outside. At this rate, they had few other choices. "This way!" he shouted, and left the road to follow a well laid stone path to the tomb. A number of soldiers in full plate mail ambushed them then, all sporting the insignia of a long haired Koopa King in white on black. Roy remembered seeing it before in his history studies, but couldn't put his finger on it. They were aggressive, and some even narrowly attacked Roy in the process.

Vincent was growing tired as he tried to keep his game up against the endless armies of history. His reflexes and his knowledge in magic had so far kept him alive, but he hadn't been planning on going against an entire army. After circling his sword and cleaving all the undead around him, he shifted it back into his wand and slammed the ground with it, emitting a black darkness and sending a large number of loose bones into the air. With his vision free of enemies, he looked ahead of him at the path's destination. On the archway above the doors read the inscription:

Here lies  
XIV BOWSER KOOPA  
of the 14th Dynasty of Koopa

Vincent blinked. Was this the same guy his dad was telling him about before? "Why are we going here?" he asked.

"His bones aren't in here." Roy said, shoving undead out of his way. "They never buried his army here either. I would know. He died in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"The Mushroom Kingdom?"

"I'll tell you the story later. Let's get those doors open." Roy let loose another Earth spell on the ground and the undead were once again swept off their feet. Running to the doors, Roy found them sealed with a massive iron bar across them. Vincent guarded the doors as Roy used his brute strength to lift the bar off its hinges and slid it to the ground. With a foot slam, the doors opened into an empty interior.

"Go!" Roy shouted as Vincent slowly backed in while he threw shots of black magic at those chasing him. Roy swung the heavy bar at the remaining undead before Vincent closed the doors after him. Wasting no time, Roy slid the iron bar upon the hinges inside the interior which had happened to be there. Apparently, the tomb was built to withstand a siege. Then again, if what Ludwig had said of Bowser's last words were true, then Bowser had already known about the UmNaru and probably planned something against them.

Roy looked about him. They were in a small foyer with two exits on either side and a portrait of a middle aged Bowser on the wall in the middle. Flanked on either side of this were two identical vases that went well with the grey marble that covered the walls. Knowing his father well, Roy immediately checked the left vase and found a note inside. Unfolding the aged paper, he read its contents. "Sealed against eleven" was all it said. "Hmph." He then turned and checked the other vase and found another note, this one much older and crinkly. "Use dad's escape plan" it said, with an arrow pointing to the left below the words. This must have been really old. 

"What are those?" Vincent asked as he healed his wounds, but Roy was too deep in thought to respond. Bowser's dad was King Morton Koopa Sr., the 13th...

"Thirteenth." Roy muttered, then it finally clicked. He was blocking the 11th King for whatever reason. He had heard stories of the tombs being connected to each other and this seemed to confirm that.

"Thirteenth what? Hey, tell me what you're thinking!" Vincent demanded, getting annoyed.

"Bowser had his tomb dug out to others ones around here." said Roy. "Don't know what he was thinking, but it'll be a problem. They'll find a way in here soon. Don't forget: we're dealing with King's on my level. There's two other ways out of here...at least. You healed up?"

"Yeah, I'm all set." said Vincent. "But that was a workout."

"We're not done yet." said Roy. "Can't go back that way. If these tombs are connected, we can use that. But its risky."

"Yeah it is. I really don't want to fight one of these kings." said Vincent.

"Here's what I'm thinking." Roy started. "This is connected to his dad's, Morton. And my gut says his dad won't fight us. Why? Because Morton found Richard's diary. Never read it but I know what it's about. He was the first guy to write about the UmNaru in our dynasty. Morton found it, and he started this...anti-UmNaru thing. And you're right, the valley has more black magic than it should. Something's up." A thud was heard and dirt fell from the ceiling. "Let's book it."

"I'd rather go back outside than fight a king against a wall." Vincent complained. 

"Can't go back that way." Roy said, holding up the Earth wand. A vision was seen of the exterior behind the doors and an endless sea of dry bones were seen congregating around the doors. "Need to lose them."

Vincent sighed. He didn't like the idea, but going up against hordes of soldiers and losing was far worse. Plus, he saw in the distance a handful of tall figures with curled horns slowly heading in their direction.

"A few kings out there now." Roy commented before disengaging the spell. "Let's go. Follow me." He turned and went down the left passage with Vincent following. They entered a large chamber just beyond the wall; it seemed the right passage led to the same room. Inside, a number of stone seats were set up along the other side of the wall. Ahead of them was another wall with a narrow slit cut into its center, and below this a stone step was set up. Adjacent were two passages, one left and one right. Cracks were seen running across the walls: a factor from the pole shift, no doubt. 

Vincent looked about him. He felt nervous about the place, even more so that he was bordering on exhaustion. There was no way he could have imagined the trip being like this, but in a way he was glad that he had come this way. It showed that the evil problem didn't stop with him: it was epidemic to the whole family line. Black magic was everywhere and white magic was nowhere to be found. The UmNaru were an enemy ages old and somehow they had possessed the forces of his ancestors, even the kings themselves. He wondered if there was a way to stop them.

Looking behind the seats, Vincent found a long drawer etched into the wall. Opening it, he found a couple of scrolls tucked away. Looking at one. It had something to do with trap doors. "He left scrolls here too." Vincent said, looking at his father behind him.

"Not surprised." said Roy, looking through the narrow slit in the wall. The other side showed a raised stone platform illuminated in a white light, but it was empty. It was as he thought.

"So maybe he..." Vincent stopped short as a ghostly image of a wicked king greeted him from the right passageway. Roy turned after his son didn't finish and stopped himself at the sight. It was an old King of the Earth, and with its long horns and long white hair, there was no mistake. This was the same guy. It made a toothy grin before it laughed hideously, a blue flame enveloping him. "Ludwig's successor." it said with a deep growling voice. "Once a fool, shame on him. Twice a fool, shame on me. I should have killed your father when I had the chance. He has ruined the line with his dogmatism, his rebellion against the great order blinding him from reality. But no matter. My vengeance is nearly complete. Soon his weak and idiotic offspring will be no more and the line will regain the glory it once held."

"Killing us gains you nothing." Roy retorted. "And Larry'll get you before you tried. He's got charge over you."

The king laughed. "Larry the fool has no charge over me, he has no charge over the whole valley. Only a fool would promote another to say such things. Tell me, what did your father say before he sent you to your doom, to serve under the wings of the sons of Naru as a mindless slave? A fitting role for idiots."

"Like you?" Roy commented as he tried to to remember his name. It was no doubt the 11th king, which meant he had broken the seal Bowser had indicated earlier. Roy counted the steps in his mind: the 11th was his great-great grandfather. "...Wolfgang. You're Wolfgang."

"The 11th Heir of Domitian, King Wolfgang Koopa." he proclaimed. "The greatest king of the 14th Dynasty. Your father has nothing against me, you even less so. The match has already been decided."

"What match? Who said I had to fight you?" Vincent asked.

"Ah yes, you." Wolfgang turned toward the youth. "The dead have been talking about you. A misfit such as you should never have been born, and yet you are allowed to live. If it wasn't for your lineage to Inauro, you would've been killed long ago."

"So you're not going to kill me, are you?" Vincent mocked. It was the same with Narec. For some reason, they wanted him alive.

Suddenly, Wolfgang turned and unleashed a large cone of frost breath at Roy, who was too slow to defend himself against it. After the frost subsided, a large icicle was seen in his place, unmoving.

"Not you." Wolfgang mused.

"You're not allowed to kill him!" Vincent blurted out in anger.

"I won't kill him...but the ice might." Wolfgang said. "And neither are you in a position to tell me what to do." He inhaled and breathed another ice blast at Vincent, but he was ready and let loose his best fire spell to counter it. Vincent's defense barely worked, the frost mere feet from his face, but eventually it subsided and he emerged unharmed. Immediately after, Wolfgang charged towards him with an oversized half axe. Swinging, Wolfgang's sliced through the air before it hit the ground, splitting the rock beneath it. "What?" Vincent had disappeared with his walking in shadows ability, and had darted aside before the blade could hit him. Wolfgang looked different in the shadows, and his original body was more pronounced and colored than before.

"Mages!" Wolfgang shouted. "Mages! Scry the tomb! He's invisible." A pair of dry magikoopa's entered the room and deliberated with themselves for a moment. When they finally started to cast a scrying spell, they only briefly saw the throwing knives aimed at their heads. The two fell to the ground one after the other moments later.

"Clever little magician you are!" Wolfgang said sarcastically, then he let out a cry as his femur got hit by a purple magic blast. He seemed to limp until the femur seemingly healed itself moments later. "A child's trick. Fitting for someone like you." Vincent looked at the icicle and saw Roy trying to break free from it using his left arm. With a ball of fire in Roy's fist, it exploded which diverted Wolfgang's attention. That's when Vincent saw a hole in the back of Wolfgang's skull. He had been killed from behind!

Roy wasted no time and punched Wolfgang square in the jaw before body slamming him into the far wall. Wolfgang's response was a fist to Roy's stomach which sent him flying to the other side of the room and shell first into the wall. Wolfgang inhaled, but before he could breathe a large black arrow made of magic suddenly flew through the air and pierced the back of his skull. He stumbled for a moment, before his frame crashed to the floor and he lay still.

Vincent sighed and reappeared in the world of the living. "Can we get out of here now?" he asked as Roy got up. "I say take the left side."

"Yeah, that way." Roy confirmed, and he stumbled after Vincent as the latter ran down the hall. Turning back, Roy saw that Wolfgang was struggling to get up; it seemed his spirit had a vengeance, and it only made Roy run faster. They exited the main resting chamber of Bowser and ran through a winding hallway, seemingly bent at places from when the Earth groaned during its hour. Eventually the grey marbled walls ceased and were replaced with bare rock, indicating they were in the tomb of another ancestor. "Watch yourself." Roy called out from behind. "It's another tomb." Moments later, the shadows of beings were seen against the glow of the torches on the walls. Another corner, and Vincent almost ran into a group of undead soldiers who wasted no time attacking him. These were armed with lighter garments but were in better condition than the others, and they all sported the emblem of a bald Koopa colored in brown on black. 

But Roy was not worried about what was in front him. Behind him, he saw they were being flanked by Wolfgang's soldiers as they closed on their position. "Push right through them!" he told Vincent. "Don't even fight them. We're being flanked!" 

Vincent unleashed his black magic discarnate spell and the way ahead turned into a flying pile of bones and armor. Jumping over the mess, Roy saw the soldiers bogged down by the litter now in the hall and they started to fall behind. But before rounding a corner, Roy caught eye of King Wolfgang in the distance, beginning to knock some of his undead soldiers over the pile.

After rounding another corner, they reached the main chamber of the tomb which seemed to be constructed similarly to the last. A large group of soldiers defended the main gateway into its resting place, a large set of stone doors that probably housed a king's corpse on the other side. They seemed rather placid and made no motion to attack, and Vincent was of a mind to head back into the open and find the main road again. "Let's just leave now." Vincent suggested, heading for what appeared to be the entrance. But magic iceballs flew from the hall they came down, and Roy was locked in a battle to defend their rear flank. "He's still following us." Roy said. "I got to put my foot on this."

Vincent was about to say something until Wolfgang rounded the corner and immediately unleashed his frost breath towards Roy, not caring for his own soldiers in the way. Roy darted out of the passage and the frost breath froze the undead guarding the tomb just feet from them. 

"Come now idiot son of Bowser, meet your fate!" Wolfgang taunted as he approached closer to the tomb. But at that moment there was a slam in the rock, and the stone doors were seen moving slowly outward. Upon opening, a large Koopa emerged with a large bald head and noticeably lacked the traditional pair of horns, and he sported a large brown shell to boot. Wolfgang stopped in his tracks upon seeing the new king emerge. "Just as expected, the rebels run to more rebels. If you had only changed your mind when given the chance Morton, I would have saved you from death."

"You cannot fight the ways of time, Wolfgang." Morton replied, brandishing his own wand. "It never yielded its secrets to you while you still lived, but perhaps it has decided to grant you your wish of immortality through death, as tormenting as your existence may be now. Forever serving the whims of your masters, the dark sons of Naru, your mind was given to them ever since your initiation as the Earth King. What words you have for me are not yours."

Wolfgang snorted. "Tall words for a weak Koopa. If Cameron were here now, you would not be speaking such debauchery and you would be back in the dungeons of hell where you belong."

"But he is not, for he is not allowed inside of these grounds." Morton countered. "And as of now, neither are you." Wolfgang pulled out his own wand, a solid piece of silver twisted in design into a white diamond and attempted to cast a spell towards Morton, but found his body dematerializing from his feet upwards and could not finish the incantation. He gave a cry of rage before his head disappeared entirely, along with all the solders that disappeared along with him. "All is well then." Morton said under his breath.

"Holy crap." Vincent muttered. Morton turned towards his descendants. "It is unfortunate how corrupt the line has become to the whims of those descended from Marthos." he explained. "Though doubtless their karma will be paid in full with time. I am Morton Koopa, the 13th Heir. You have fled from the empty tomb of my son, though I do not recognize your faces. But if you are allies of the Krimmin just as the young Bowser once was, then you are allies with myself, the instigator."

"Name's Roy, his third son." Roy began. "16th King. This is my son Vincent." He paused. "I'm trying to end this thing. It's been killing all of us, and I figured, there's only one way to do it. So I married the last one descended from Inauro."

"A forbidden marriage." Morton commented. "And so are any offspring that may arise from it. What is the purpose of this?"

Roy inhaled, not comfortable with Vincent hearing what he was saying. "The UmNaru were not evil once. Came to be that way, don't know how. But if they're to be defeated, then you gotta bring them into the open. Keep them from hiding. You take them down from within, not without. They know everything about war, controlling their puppets, the ways of the mind. You have to take them from within. They made the rules, about keeping the lines separate. We didn't. We need to make our own rules."

"We need to make our own rules." Morton echoed with a growing smirk. "Heh, those were the exact words your father said to me before he began the Krimmin revolt against the aged King Wolfgang, back in the late medieval age. Assassinating him, it sparked the beginning of the awakening of those who came to realize who controlled the line and the Kingdom from the shadows. I would never have thought to merge the branches together into a single lineage, though that is how it once began, did it not?"

Vincent clutched his hand suddenly as pain rippled through it. "What is the matter?" Morton asked. Vincent took off his glove and found the symbol of the UmNaru pulsing red upon his palm. "The Mark of the UmNaru." Morton muttered. "Then..." He turned and seemingly thought to himself for a moment. "...no. You will know when you are ready. You are still young yet, and already have much on your shoulders. The truth will come when you are ready." Roy looked perplexed. What truth was that, aside from what the boy already knew? "Here. In the drawers opposite you will find a pair of scrolls of white magic. Take them to help stem the pain of darkness." 

"Thank you!" Vincent exclaimed, finally getting what he had wanted for a long time. He opened the drawer to find two glowing white scrolls within, sealed with golden rings. "Thank god. I've needed real healing magic for so long now. But what did you mean about the truth...?"

"You will know in due time." said Morton. "For you do not have the power yet to harness it. Have you yet forged a wand through the magic induction ceremony?"

"No, I don't think so." said Vincent. "Do you mean making my own wand? Dad said we're supposed to do that later."

"There is a forge upon the northeast ridge of the Valley." Morton said. "It is one of the most ancient forges of the race, only still existing due to where it now sits. It has laid rather undisturbed through the ages and I believe you may find gems within if you care to take a look."

"We'll think about it." said Roy. "We've got undead chasing us, so we gotta bolt out of here as soon as we can. But thanks. I still gotta teach that to him."

"When the time is right." said Morton. "And with that, I will let you two depart. You have destinies to fulfill far beyond this valley I sense, and it is wise to now leave this place. Run as swift as you can and try not to engage in any of your ancestors. I wish you well and hope the final defeat of the UmNaru and the cleansing of our family line will soon be at hand. Farewell!" 

"Thanks. No really." said Roy. "Appreciate it." With that, Morton entered his tomb before shutting the stone doors behind him. His undead guard reanimated soon after, but as with before, none of them attacked the duo.

"That was my granddad." Roy said. "Your great-granddad. Never met him till now. He's a nice guy, lucky it ended up like this."

"My family reunion will be full of dead people." Vincent mused with a bitter tone. "All my relatives are dead, my siblings are dead, mom is dead. The dead talk to me. Where are the people that are actually alive? Where are they?" He looked at the undead ahead of him, who merely looked at each other. He was getting sick of living in the dark and dealing with the dead. Maybe it was an adverse effect of the white magic scrolls that he now had, but Inauro's ring also seemed glow brighter than usual. He slid the golden ring off one scroll and opened it up. Inside he found a number of white magic spells written in golden letters on white paper, one of which had the effect of dispelling all evil. He tried it on his hand, and the mark gradually became less painful until only a slight tingling was felt. 

Closing the scroll and putting the ring back over it, he put his glove back on before stuffing the scrolls away with the rest of his collection of spells. "I'm getting out of this valley right now." he said with a new determination and headed towards the entrance.

"Hey!" Roy called and ran after him. But Vincent had already dashed outside and found that most of the undead were still huddled around the entrance to Bowser's empty tomb. Ahead to the north were fewer congregations and Vincent wasted no time dashing down the hill towards the road. By the time Roy made it outside, the undead had noticed their presence and began moving towards their location. Ignoring them, Roy tried to dash after the youth who was running much faster than he was. It seemed that each step he took in the valley, the more incompetent he became. "Hey! Do not run ahead of me!" Roy shouted back. 

Vincent responded by slowing down after he jumped down to a hill that overlooked the road. But before he could make the last leap, something else leapt directly in front of him with a thud. He looked up and saw a great Koopa king had landed in front of him, over 13 feet tall wielding a double edged sword and a long sharp shield. "Etku karak almeni!" he shouted before roaring at Vincent. This guy looked menacing and he decided not to stick around. Vincent bolted and jumped back up the hill that he had just jumped from earlier. He looked back to see if he pursued, and suddenly he felt his neck get caught by the shield that the king threw at him moments earlier. Caught by the metal, he was slammed into the mountain face behind him with his neck wedged between it and the shield. The shield had cut both sides of his neck and blood began to run down his body. Too focused on trying to get the thing out of the rock, he almost didn't notice the king charging toward him with his glowing brown sword held up high, intending to behead him. With a little fire magic, he heated the metal quickly and managed to slide out the shield far enough for him to drop to the ground. Moments later, the king's blade swiped at the rock which sliced straight through it and sent a rain of boulders towards the youth. Vincent tumbled back down the hill he came and landed with a thud, coughing up blood as he tried to get up. 

Roy darted over a few hills, finally able to see what was going on. This king was serious business. Given his height, he was probably from one of the older dynasties. The king had noticed Roy and let out a large roar in his direction. This gave enough time for Vincent to get up and shove his wand at the king's chest and unleash his black magic spell, which sent the king flying across the road towards the other ridge with his arms flying off him in the process.

"Vincent!" Roy yelled. "Do not run ahead of me!" But the boy was too busy trying to heal himself. His neck wounds sealed up quickly with the new white magic. "Come on! Get up!" Roy said angrily. Sighing, Vincent got up and wiped the blood from his mouth before heading back down to the road, this time reaching it. The hoard was not far behind now, beginning to round the last bend to them. Getting the cue, Vincent ran a little slower as Roy stayed behind him to guard the kid from any more attacks. The northern passes were not as populated as the south, but the hills held far older tombs and the power of the kings were far greater. Arrows came from their rear and Roy extended a shield that reflected their shots, hitting many of the dead that now chased them from behind. 

They did not know for how long they ran, but to Vincent it seemed like forever. A sight caught his eye to his left. Wiping sweat from his brow, it seemed like he could see stone spires extending out of a mountain peak. A large opening could be seen into it and he guessed that it was the forge that Morton had talked about. The sky above it pierced through the volcanic gloom with a brilliant white, the first time he had seen it since leaving John's Castle. "I think...that's the forge." he managed to say between breaths.

"No time!" Roy said, knocking more dead down with a basic wind spell. "Keep running!"

"It's been...an hour...since we...started." Vincent blurted out. He looked behind him and the dead were still on their trail, refusing to give up the chase. The sky above them began to lighten from the ashen black to a more lightish grey. Snow and ice were seen ahead on either side of the valley and they saw the ridges begin to widen on either side. Running through melting ice, they slowed down once they saw that the exit was in sight. A sign was seen to their right, a wooden post with a board attached on its end. Roy saw that the dead had finally started to fall behind them, with most turning away and heading back where they had come. After sending a few blasts to the remaining stragglers, the rest of the dead were gone from sight leaving the two alone. 

Vincent ran past the sign, not caring for the message or the skull attached to it. He slowed down until he collapsed face first into the melting snow, breathing heavily and too exhausted to move further. Roy slowed to a walk and caught himself breathing heavily as well. That was far more difficult than he thought, and he didn't do nearly as well as he had hoped. Were the UmNaru watching their footsteps? It seemed likely since the whole valley was soaked in black magic more than it usually was. But he was too tired to think further, and Roy found himself sitting down on the snow with a sigh. Despite what happened, Vincent did an amazing job, far more than he had hoped. 

"I...puh...I am...never...gah." Vincent muttered, too out of breath to speak correctly. "Never...doing that...again." He pulled his face out of the snow and saw that his mouth was bleeding all over it. "Never again..." He sat on his side and fumbled inside of his robe for his pouch of scrolls.

Roy huffed. "It was your choice, not mine...but I'll tell you what. You did good. Real good, didn't think you'd fight a king like dat."

"Good?" Vincent seemed to laugh before he coughed on his own blood. "Yeah. It's my fault. But...no other way. It was either this or..." His fell silent before he started an incantation for full healing. At length, Roy got back on his feet again and looked to his east, directly ahead of him. There he saw what appeared to be Lemmy's Castle in the distance, covered by slabs of ice with some of its stone pillars sticking out from the mess. It seemed that his brother's castle had made it through the shift after all. That's what he hoped for. Now as long as Lemmy was still alive...

An idea hit him then. Why didn't use use it before? Roy shook his head. He had other things in his mind at the time. Taking out the Earth Wand, he cast a spell to the wand's other half. "Kylie. It's me." He said.

A minute passed and nothing happened. Then a familiar face popped up above the wand. "Wow. Am I seeing this right?" Kylie asked. She looked a little out of her mind, so Roy thought. 

"Yeah. I'm alive." said Roy. "Been hectic as fuck. Ran through the Valley of the Koopas. We're alive. Well, son and I are."

"The Valley? You ran through that?" Are you crazy?!" Kylie exclaimed. "What about the rest of your family?"

Roy sighed and shook his head. "That's a story. Only one son made it, Vincent."

"Oh my god, I'm sorry..." Kylie started. 

"Listen." Roy said, cutting her off. "We're fucking exhausted. We need rest. Is Lemmy alive? We're goin' there next."

"Uh...yeah, I'm at his castle right now." said Kylie. "There's a lot of people migrating here from Bambesh Valley. That whole place is a mess, Roy. You have to do something about it. I...will tell you the whole story when you get here."

"Alright." Roy said. "Going now. See you then." Kylie nodded, and her image faded to nothingness. Roy looked at his son, who seemed to be in somewhat better shape. "Sorry, but we gotta keep going." said Roy, walking up to him. "Lemmy's Castle's out that way." He pointed towards it. It looked to be about 3-4 hours away from Roy's guess. "He's an uncle of yours. We'll rest there for a while."

Vincent said nothing at first as he put away one of the scrolls he used to heal himself. He then crawled back to his feet, which remained sore from all the running. "How do you people live like that?" he asked suddenly. "That's...that's not living. That's hoping to live. They're really dying, endlessly. We need to be living. I want to be alive, and not put myself in a cage." He sighed as the cool air brushed across his sweat laden face. He stepped forward towards the castle with a sense of refreshment filling him. Roy watched him go for a moment before following silently behind him. He sensed that his son's fate was moving beyond him to something greater than he had imagined. Vincent had defeated two Earth Kings and he was still a youth, which was something unheard of. What that meant Roy didn't know. But whatever it was, it had something to do with what his granddad said, his "truth." For now, Roy decided to simply enjoy the sky above him, as grey as it was. It was better than the suffocating clouds of ash that he had been under since he had awakened in the snowy ruins of the Old Kingdom.


	49. Echoes of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy finds a loose string that leads into a past he never knew.  
> Larry ties off his end and weaves anew.  
> Iggy bears the Blood King new eyes.

They came to the edge of the trees, and ahead of them lay a long sandy coastline dotted with debris and flotsam washed in by the tsunami that ravaged the globe during the pole shift. The water had risen since then and had begun to encroach on what remained of the coast.

“The water's rising already!” Pete said in a hushed whisper.

“Why would it?” Tommy asked, oblivious to what was occurring.

“That's what we were told.” said the other. “The ocean would rise after the shift is done, and all these lands would flood. That's why we gotta get the bananas and scurry out of here.” He pointed to a peninsula of land just ahead of them, upon which stood a hut of sticks and grass with a boat moored on the sand nearby. “That's it. We're gonna sneak up and knife them. You got your piece?”

“Yeah.” Pete unsheathed a carbon blade from his side.

“Okay, let's get in from behind!” the other said and hastily moved forward with the other two following behind. Moments later, a Kong with a pair of shades was seen leaving the hut, heading towards his boat when he happened to spot the trio out of the corner of his eye.

“Wooooohoooo!” he exclaimed in the typical Kong fashion. “Them Kremlings are still on my tail! Tiny! Get the coconut launcher! It's time for a little game of hit the Kremling!”

“Drat, he saw us! Attack!” Pete sprang forward onto the beach along with the other, but Tommy didn't feel like this was a good idea. A part of him felt it better to dash back into the jungle, but with no knowledge on how to survive, and with little food that too was not such a good idea. Plus, being young he didn't want to get on anyone's bad side. With this in mind, he darted after them with a plan. 

A little Kong with blonde pigtails came running out of the hut with a large wooden cannon on her shoulder. “I got this one Funky! I need to make up for the time you saved me.” Tiny said, aiming the cannon at the Kremlings.

“Wha? You sure?” Funky asked, but Tiny already started firing coconuts at the trio running toward them. One coconut hit Pete directly, and the resulting explosion threw Tommy to the ground. But he did not get up and decided to play dead instead.

The other Kremling rushed forward as he dodged Tiny's exploding coconuts. “Your banana's are mine!” he shouted, preparing to jump at them. But a coconut instead exploded at his feet and he was shot straight into the air behind the Kong's and landed in the ocean far in the distance.

“Fowl ball!” Funky shouted. “Outfield's the other way dude!”

“Fowl critters maybe.” Tiny commented, looking at the craters around her. She spotted something that didn't look anything like a Kremling. “Hey! That's not a critter! What is it?”

Funky immediately dashed across the beach to examine the mysterious creature. Tiny followed behind, trying to lug the heavy cannon with her. When they arrived, they found a blast crater with a Kremling on the right and a white shelled creature on the left. It lay on its side with its eyes closed.

“That's a Koopa!” Funky exclaimed. “What's it doing down this far? Hey, is it alive?” Funky kicked the stomach and Tommy coughed in response.

“Hey you! Why did you attack us?” Funky asked. 

“I need to go home.” Tommy groaned. “They said you were giving them trouble.”

“Hah! Spin it the other way and you got the real story!” Funky said. “The Kremlings have done everything to take my banana's and I've done squat to them!”

“They said you have a boat.” Tommy continued as he crawled to his feet. But he saw Tiny ready the coconut gun in response.

“You aren't getting our boat by attacking us!” Funky declared.

Tommy sighed. Clearly this was not going to work. “Then is there a castle around here? Maybe I can--”

“Castles? Nawww.” Funky waved his hand with amusement. “Besides that maniac K. Rool's Kontraptions, there's no...wait, there is that place.” Funky scratched his chin. “It's not really a castle, but the Koopa's made it. Perfect! It's right up your alley.”

“Is there food there?” Tommy asked.

“Hell, now it's probably all rotten.” Funky responded. “It's been sitting there for a while.”

“Well that won't help.” said Tommy. “I need to find a way back home to the Koopa Kingdom, but I don't know where that is or if they're coming to find me or whatever.”

“Who could come looking for you now?” Tiny asked. 

“My parents, Ludwig and Kylie.”

“Oh shiiiiii---” Funky thought twice, especially now that K. Rool was on his tail. He didn't want two villains chasing him down. However, he did get along with Ludwig's younger brother Larry. “They had kids! Wooooo! I'm getting old! Man I didn't know that! That's my bad. Listen, that castle I just talked about. Your dad built it. It's all yours to take. I don't think anyone else lives in it. But when you get there, go to the control room cause there's a radio up there you could use to dial home with. Don't know if there's power to the place though.”

“But where is it?” Tommy asked.

“Oh, it's just beyond that range.” Funky said, waving his hand at the mountain range Tommy had seen earlier. “It's down in a valley, a few miles from here.” Funky reached into a sack on his back. “A treat on me!” It was a bunch of bananas.

“Thanks...” Tommy took them and wondered if this was all a ploy to get rid of him. “But...let's say I can't find anything. Will you guys still be here if I come back in...like, a few days?”

“That's how long we're staying here for.” Tiny replied. “We're getting ready to sail down the ocean and we'll be done with the boat by then, maybe three days. There's a village south being built by the survivors and that's where we're going---”

“Hey don't tell him about our plans!” Funky retorted.

“I wont attack you again, promise.” Tommy said. “I never heard about you guys before so I didn't know. You look like monkeys.”

“We're the Kongs!” Funky proudly proclaimed. “With a capital K! This is our jungle and we're always fighting the guy trying to steal our banana horde, King K. Rool. Bowser had a deal with him so I'm a little fishy with your relatives, but your uncle Larry was a cool guy so I'll cut you some slack for not knowing.”

“My dad never tells me anything.” Tommy muttered. “He just says what I need to know.”

“Bingo! That's him in a nutshell.” Funky said. 

“I didn't even know I had an uncle Larry.” Tommy continued. 

“Larry was the number two in that place.” said Funky. “He was close with your dad, so I'm being easy on you. That doesn't mean the rest of your family is alright by me, I'm just calling the shots as I see them. So it was nice meeting you and all that, even though that could have been...I don't know, friendlier? But we gotta get back to making our boat before sundown, and you should head out now if you want to reach that place by sundown too. I'm Funky by the way, the most rad of the bunch! This is Tiny.”

“I'm Tommy.” said the Koopaling. “You two are interesting, that's for sure.”

“Haha! We get that a lot! Alright then, good luck and I hope you make it back in one piece!” Funky waved before turning back and Tiny gave him a small wave with a smile.

“Bye.” Tommy waved as Tiny turned and followed her uncle back to the hut. In truth, he did not want them to leave, but after his attack he knew that the Kong's could not fully trust him. There was a lot about the world that his father, the former King Ludwig never told him about in the daily lessons he was given along with his other siblings. Neither did his father ever talk about his life before he became a King, Tommy realized. He always explained his passion for music, but little else was said about his own life as a Koopaling under their grandfather Bowser. Being a Koopaling curious about everything, Tommy was not satisfied and now that he was broken free, he decided to get as many answers about the world and his heritage as he could before finding a way back hone. With his mind made up, Tommy headed back into the jungle, the sun already crossing the zenith of the day above a cover of cloud.

* * *

The climb up the ridge was longer and harder than he thought, putting his physical skills to the test. The mountain range had volcanoes dotted along it and numerous landslides had occurred during the shift, making some routes treacherous to attempt. At one point, Tommy attempted scaling a patch of dirt before he was forced to dart aside as he had triggered another landslide that brought tons of rock and debris to the jungle floor.

“Crap...” Tommy muttered. He hoped there was no one else down there at the time. Deciding to stick to the rock, he climbed with his hands and knees to the top of a pale ridge, juxtaposed by two erupting volcanoes safe in the distance. After reaching the top, Tommy exhaled loudly, glad that the hard part was finally over. But what he saw on the other side startled him. Before him was a shallow valley nudged between the reforming Kong mountains and the Northern Mushroom Range, its snowy tops now replaced by volcanoes of their own. Resting upon the jungle floor was a large metallic structure that was seen leaning against the face of the Mushroom Range in a dilapidated state. It had the shape of a symmetrical column and the darkened words of “DK” clearly seen upon its upper half, though the K had come loose and was close to falling off entirely. The jungle had begun to grow around it, with many plants and vines twirling around the aging metal, though a few recent landslides had also partially buried the place.

Tommy made a face. This looked nothing like the castle that Funky Kong had talked about. In fact, judging by the DK on it's face, it probably belonged to the Kongs! But then again, with what he's seen, how could they build something like this? Ever since landing in the area, Tommy had not seen a single bit of technology or civilization anywhere. With the world as developed as it once was, he figured that he would at least find a town or something with modern civilization within it. But instead he was met with primitive technology, which told him that this probably wasn't built by them. If that was true...

“Why would my dad build this for them?” was the question prominent in Tommy's mind as he decided what to do. Food was not a big problem for the short term but water certainly was. He didn't trust the water in the streams as ash fall from the volcanoes had mixed in with them. He had no way of purifying any water that he could see, which motivated him to check out the ruins below in hopes of finding something. After his climb to the top, he realized that he was growing thirsty and needed to find something to drink.

He descended downhill which was a more pleasant experience, though landslides still abounded around him and he remained vigilant. He reached what he guessed was the bottom, which was now covered in dirt and rock with a few trees sticking above it. Ahead of him was a large clearing, with had many Kremling corpses spewed about alongside small craters. On the other end of the clearing was the entrance to the massive structure, with its doors wide open. A stench came up and Tommy immediately covered his face. Was this really a good idea? Then again, where else could he go? Even if the place was a grave, if there was a radio within, then it was better than dying with nothing. 

After a few moments, Tommy cautiously stepped out into the clearing, but immediately after a pair of lights were seen flashing near the entrance and a pair of strange weapons beneath them pointed at the hapless Koopaling. “Emergency Breach Protocol.” came a robotic voice. “Please show your PDA for scanning.”

“My what?” Tommy blinked.

“Subject's PDA unavailable. Please state your name.” said the voice.

“Tommy Koopa.” he said. “Son of Ludwig Von Koopa.”

“Processing...Tommy Koopa not registered. Ludwig Von Koopa registered as builder and sole proprietor of the Galaxy. Evidence required. Please await further scanning, or be neutralized.”

After a moment, a beam array quickly scanned through Tommy's body. “Scan complete. DNA analysis indicates similar codon pairs to the host. Statement plausible. Is subject a member of the Galaxy?”

“Um...I want to be.” Tommy said after a moment.

“Awareness of this complex is sufficient. Access granted. Please head to the initiation chamber. Welcome to the Galaxy, Tommy.” The guns deactivated and the lights went off. With a face, Tommy slowly walked up to the doors, thinking they might try to pull a fast one on him again. But nothing happened and he passed through the open doorway without a hitch. Walking inside, he drew a breath at the expanse of the place, despite the considerable amount of damage it had sustained since its construction. Most of the glass hand railings had shattered long ago and the rails were bent in some places, but that didn't stop Tommy from looking up and down at all the floors around him. Many of the walls were caved in or had imploded, and debris lay along every path he could see. Some of the foliage of the jungle had made its way inside and vines crawled about on the walls. However, the place still looked navigable despite all that and Tommy didn't know where to start. What seemed more remarkable was that the place still had emergency power and Tommy didn't know how that was possible or how it all worked for that matter. 

On one side he could see a room full of clothing with many shirts on racks and piled all over the floor as well. Another room had a few electronic gadgets inside, but there were signs of looting within as much of it was empty. It seemed people had ran out with what they could when the place crashed. At the opening of another store Tommy caught the eye of a skeleton dressed in a business suit looking at him. Tommy gulped. This place was indeed a mass grave and it felt like he had entered a technological tomb instead. But he had to find the radio, and once he did he was going to leave as soon as possible. 

Tommy began wondering through the rubble, trying to imagine what kind of place it really was. Was it a giant floating mall? But then why would his dad make a floating mall for the Kongs? There were too many questions that the place raised and Tommy silenced them for the time being. For now, he needed to find the “control room” Funky had told him about. If this place was anything like his dad's castle, then the control room was at the very top.

Watching his step, Tommy looked around him for any kind of stairwell. A courtyard was seen ahead filled with debris, with piles of dirt flowing through what were once large windows. What appeared to be an elevator was seen smashed and distorted into various angles. As he walked towards it, emergency lights blinked to life, though many flickered with difficulty. The place definitely had some power left and he almost wished the elevator worked. However, he spotted a stairwell nearby and looking inside, he saw it winding above and below for many floors. Sprinting forward, he began his long ascent upwards. 

Tommy climbed many floors with the level numbers blurring by him. He didn't know how long he ran, but eventually the stair twisted until it became unusable altogether after one of the exits. Looking at the nearest exit, he saw a sign that read DK65-7XX. Barging through it, Tommy found a long hallway, this time filled with doors on ether side all the way down. Breathing heavily from running so fast, Tommy continued his marathon race down the hall until he nearly passed another stairwell to his right. 

Running up, he soon felt out of breath and forced himself to slow down. Tommy didn't know why, but he didn't like to waste any time and relied on his speed to keep as much time as possible for himself. But the stairs were conquering him and Tommy slowed to a walk as he struggled to push himself forward. Something told him that the elevators were meant to be used instead of the stairs, but if he were to reach the control room, then he had no other choice.

Time seemed to stretch on for hours, until he saw what looked like the top of the stairwell. With a new burst of energy he ran up the last four flights of steps before finally reaching the top. The door was unlike the others and had no handles, and was engraved with the letters DK-X. Walking closer, the doors opened automatically revealing a dark, narrower hallway. Passing by an elevator shaft, Tommy walked towards the end of the hall as the doors slid shut behind him. Another door like it was seen, this time with a black monitor display next to it. Walking up to it, Tommy wondered why it didn't open automatically like the previous one did. Below the monitor, he noticed a keyboard and a strange device next to it. Fiddling with the keys, the screen blinked to life asking for a “username.” He typed in his own name and pressed enter.

“Invalid entry. Please provide fingerprint for analysis and verification.” said the same AI as before. Shrugging, Tommy placed his claw on the scanner which flashed blue momentarily. 

“Analysis complete. Tommy Koopa identified. Inadequate security clearance. Level 2 authorization or above required.”

Tommy frowned. That didn't sound good. “Well how can I get in then?” he blurted aloud.

“Level 2 authorization or higher required.” repeated the AI.

Tommy assumed that meant people like his dad. “Well my dad's knocked out.” he explained, last remembering his physical state. “He can't tell you to open and I don't know who else that could.” No response came from the computer, so he decided to switch gears. “What's the control room for? Is that where you pilot this...thing?”

“The control room is the administrative center for the Kong Sector of the Galaxy.” the AI stated. “All life support systems, electrical systems and communications systems for the Kong Sector are housed within the control room. The sector may be piloted if detached from the Galaxy central hull if needed.”

“That's not the first time I heard Galaxy.” Tommy said to himself. “Life support systems?”

“Yes. Systems that deliver oxygen to all parts of the sector.”

“So this place was flying.” Tommy said.

“Of course.” the AI stated. “The Galaxy is the world's largest space station. Life support is required to sustain its population.”

“That's cool.” Tommy didn't expect his dad to build something like that. It sounded like a long story. “But we're not in space anymore.”

“...please re-clarify.” the AI asked.

“We're in a jungle...somewhere, I don't know what's it's called, but the Kong's live in it and they told me to come here.”

“Sensor and visual arrays offline. Inadequate power.” the AI stated. “Unable to verify location. Sector is in emergency mode due to unknown power failure.”

“But all you have to do is turn on a camera or something.” said Tommy. “You saw me at the entrance. How can you not see where we are?”

“Your lifeform was verified by heat signature.” the AI explained. “Low power detector. Visual verification missing due to camera's now offline.”

“Then why don't you turn them on?” Tommy suggested.

“Insufficient power remaining.” the AI said. “Solar arrays 2, 3 and 5 damaged. Voltage draw decreased by 78%. Only vital emergency systems are currently operational.”

“What about turning off those guns at the entrance?” Tommy suggested.

“Security detail required for emergency mode.” came the response.

“Just turn one of the guns off then.” Tommy pleaded. “For like, 10 seconds then turn on the camera for that long. That can't hurt right?” The AI did not reply and Tommy threw his arms up in frustration. He sat on the ground, now unsure what to do.

“Analysis complete.” the AI said suddenly. “Temporary override supported by your level of authorization. Will deactivate right sentry for 10 seconds and activate external visual camera to verify current environmental conditions.” A series of power fluctuations were heard throughout the walls, which occurred again a few seconds later. “Environment verified. Galaxy no longer in orbit. Analyzing...crash landed upon the surface within the Kong Jungles. Survival mode activating. Reducing life support system output. Checking for Galaxy members currently aboard...” There was a pause. “One confirmed via heat detection. Substantial damage to residential quarters reported by remaining operational arrays. Chances of sustainability 38%. Assuming the Galaxy mandate to be relinquished. Opening all security enhanced doors through Level 1 Authorization.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Tommy said, jumping to his feet. Moments later, there was a discharging and the doors slid back, but only half way before abruptly stopping with a barrage of sparks. Tommy quickly squeezed through the doorway and entered the dimly lit room as the doors haphazardly closed behind him. It was smaller than he expected. Circular in shape, it housed consoles that lined its circumference in varying states of preservation, though most seemed to be intact. Empty chairs were tossed all about along with loose papers that littered the floor. A few small lights were seen on a number of consoles, but otherwise none of the screens were operational. In the center of the room was another separate console, flanked by joysticks and other controls normally reserved for flying.

Tommy drew a deep breath as he realized he had no idea how to work any of the electronics in front of him. He tried to imagine what the radio should look like. Scanning the walls of the room, Tommy slowly started to work his way around as he passed many electrical devices that he did not know. One device reminded him of what his mother Kylie would use to talk to Ludwig with. He turned it on, but saw it was more like a walkie-talkie.

Tommy frowned, but noticed a rack of devices next to it with various lines and numbers splattered across the faces of them. Turning off the walkie-talkie, he powered on one of the radio's and it glowed to life, filling the room with the noise of static. Adjusting a big knob on the radio, he watched the numbers go up on an LCD display without hearing a thing. 

“Colcolmol...” a voice was heard momentarily. Tommy dialed back and came across a station he could not understand. However, his hopes rose as it seemed that people were still broadcasting radio despite the disaster that happened. Tommy dialed forward again.

“...before the signal was...” That he understood and he doubled back again. “...before the shift, because the continental arrangement then allowed the signal to better propagate off the surface of the northern and eastern Koopa Crags.” said a voice. “Of course now the propagation shifted a few degrees south latitude for both locations, so reorienting the antennas on the map towards the west-south-west, and east-north-east in our case should result in better reception. Over.”

“A map!” Tommy's thoughts spoke out loud. That's what he needed, and this is where he could find it. He searched the floor for anything that looked like a map, but found only documentation and instructions for what he assumed were to run the station. Turning to the console in the center of the room, he wondered if it was the big computer of the place and if so, perhaps there would be a map of the world on it. Looking for the power button, he spotted a large green button and pressed it.

“Tycho 8, This is Lemmy's Echo 9.” another voice said as a boot up screen came on display. “We got your transmission loud and clear. It seems that with the new geography, that is if the new world is anything like we predicted it to be, the best place to propagate signal would be across the Northern Mushroom Range. So to confirm what you said, yes, the antenna's should be pointed towards those directions. Right now I have Echo 1 on the roof trying to turn it that way as he's listening in to our conversation, but it looks like our reception is already improving.” There was a pause as the boot screen loaded up into a GUI with a picture of the Galaxy in the background, with its 8 original columns attached. “Echo 2 wants to know the current status update for you guys, since our last update exchange was over a day ago just after the shift. How are you guys faring out over there right now? Over.”

The login prompt finished loading on the computer in front of him. “User and password?” Tommy echoed. He was never given those. Suddenly, the fields were typed in for him. “Login override complete.” Tommy heard the AI say, and then a prompt came up afterward. “Do you want to log into the Galaxy Core?” Tommy read aloud. What was that? He shrugged and pressed yes. A somewhat complicated interface showed up, showing lists of video recordings, statistics, charts of various types and computerized controls for the Galaxy. It took a moment for Tommy to shift through the charts before finding what he presumed was the map of the world...the old world. 

“Echo 9, This is Genlic's Tycho 8.” said the first voice from before. “We received your broadcast loud and clear. Gain has already increased another +5db just from that small alignment. We are proceeding to realign our antenna upon the roof which should take approximately 20 minutes our time. Our current status is that we have become an island as we have stated previously. The ocean has risen higher since that last transmission which is on schedule to the total 600 foot rise or so. In the meantime, we have begun a boat building program as much of the surrounding land has turned into hills above the water and we want to contact the survivors that may be lingering on them. Our food production remains steady with small fluctuations due to demand in certain areas and readjusting staple crops. We have not been attacked by the UmNaru since their last attempt and it seems Genlic is now purged of that enemy. I hope your side of the world is looking as hopeful as ours. Over.”

The name Genlic sounded familiar. Tommy swore he had overheard it when his dad and mom talked one time. Looking at the virtual map in front of him, he saw a number of important places labeled in many locations. He found Genlic to the northeast. Lemmy's...Lemmy Koopa? Was that a relative of his? Because he had a castle to the north of the Koopa Kingdom, within the arctic circle. They were communicating quite a distance, though the world probably looked different now. Tommy looked for a way to communicate with the two currently talking but couldn't find anything obvious. Shrugging, he turned back around and started to browse through the vast log of video files of the Galaxy. One showed the world from space tilting in place. “Wow.” was all he could say at that sight. There was a lot about the past that his father never told him. Searching his name in the database, Tommy came across a number of videos with his father in them. He saw the face of his grandfather Bowser many times with him, who always looked like he was in a bad mood. One video he loaded had Ludwig in a room with his mother and they were doing...

“Gahhh!” Tommy cried and immediately closed the video. He did not need to see that at all, but now he couldn't get the image of his parents having sex out of his head. “That was not cool.” Trying to get the horror off of his mind, he wondered if there was any way he could save the important things he was seeing and began snooping around the drawers. “That was awful.”

“Tycho 8, this is Lemmy's Echo 9.” said the second voice. “We are glad to hear that things are fine over there. Up here, everything is quite chaotic as the Bambesh Valley, should I call it, “experiment” failed and everyone's been rushing out of it and heading up our way. Thousands come everyday. They all tell us of gangs ravaging the valley, they take what food is left, they rape the women and kill them, torture the young boys, horrible. Really dark stuff down there. There's big news going around that a large group of them raided Ludwig's Castle not a day past.”

Tommy immediately turned around upon hearing that name. 

“I guess they sneaked off with the King and a few of his kids cause many of them were boasting about capturing “king asshole and his shit.” They probably went to Bambesh Valley by now, but who knows what will happen to them. Ludwig did earn a beefy price on his head after what he pulled. But anyway, Kylie and her daughter ran up to us and she's trying to recover here, but she's not all with it. She doesn't have what it takes right now to take care of things, too shaken up. So we're all still relying on Lemmy cause Roy's not going to be here until nightfall at the earliest. And Roy's a whole other story. Over.”

Tommy anxiously looked at the radio for anything he could use to communicate with them. On the top, he found what looked like a communication device attached to a long cord with a plug on the end. He had somehow looked it over the first time. Looking for the right jack, he plugged it into the transmit jack and fiddled with the controls. 

“Hey, can you guys hear me?” Tommy said, simply speaking into it. Nothing happened, so he pressed some of the buttons on the device. “Can you guys hear me? I need help!”

“Echo 9, this is Genlic's Tycho 8. We have picked up a distress call and will be intercepting. Over.”

“You heard me? I'm stuck out here and I have no idea where to go.” Tommy explained.

“Hello. Please state your name, current location and the type of emergency.” said the second voice from Genlic.

“I'm Tommy Koopa, I'm stuck in the Kong Jungles and I have no idea how to get back home.” said Tommy.

Back at Genlic, Tycho 8 looked at his partner Tycho 2 with a quizzed look. “May I ask for your specific location? There are very few stations in that land. Over.”

“Uh, I'm in this place called the Galaxy.” said Tommy. “It's in bad shape but it works.”

“What?” Tommy heard him say.

“I'm in this place called the Galaxy.” Tommy repeated. 

Tycho 2 frowned. “Is this guy crazy?” he said.

“Sir, the Galaxy was destroyed quite a while ago when it fell through the atmosphere.” Tycho 8 explained. “You must be mistaken. Over.”

Tommy felt frustrated again. “No dude, I know what I'm saying. I'm inside the Galaxy. It was used by the Kong's cause their banana stuff is everywhere, and I was told there was a radio in here. So here I am.”

“Is he talking about the Kong sector?” Tycho 2 asked his companion. “Cause if that survived, that's big news. I got to tell Larry.”

“Larry's in a meeting.” Tycho 8 mentioned.

“Yeah, but this--”

“Hey guys!” Tycho 3 ran into the room. “Any reason why the Core just powered to life?”

“No, why?” asked Tycho 2.

“Because I was just walking by the room that it's in, and suddenly, boom! It turned on by itself and there was no one in the room! What's up with that?” All three looked at each other until Tycho 2 bolted from his seat and ran out of the room. “I'll go tell him!” he shouted back.

“Hello?” Tommy called, irked by the sudden silence.

“Hello. Sorry for the brief radio silence. Please remain where you are for the time being. We are contacting the owner of Genlic, Larry as the Galaxy was at last his responsibility.”

“Larry Koopa?” Tommy asked. This had to be the same guy.

“Yes, that's the individual in question.” said Tycho 8. “I should be able to give you an update within about 5 minutes, so please be patient.”

“Okay.” Tommy put the transceiver down and looked behind him, remembering what he was doing earlier. He found a memory card earlier, something he was familiar with after playing with Ludwig's computer a few times. Finding a slot, he put the card inside the machine and started to copy over everything that he found, including the maps of the old and new worlds. This was something he didn't want to lose.

Meanwhile, Tycho 2 ran through the halls of Genlic and hopped aboard several “light” elevators that disassembled and reassembled him in a flash. Working his way up, he eventually reached the conference room which was packed to the brim with many people standing around a sleek long table full of the communities heads. Considering the navigational maps spread across the table, it was probably about them exploring the new lands around them. Tycho 2 maneuvered his way through the back as he tried to reach the front of the table where King Larry sat, who was staring intently at the maps in front of him.

“Excuse me, Larry.” Tycho 2 said in a harsh whisper. Larry merely looked at him. “The Galaxy Core just turned on by itself.”

“What?” Larry snapped out of his concentration with the sailing project and looked through his mental mindscape.

“We also got this transmission--” But Larry was already up upon seeing Tommy Koopa inside the remains of the Kong Sector of the Galaxy. He should of kept an eye on him after he went off with the Kremlings, but responsibilities got into his way. Keeping track of the entire family was difficult on top of his duties at the survival shelter inside Genlic. 

“What's up?” Mona asked, seated next to him.

“Looks like my nephew found where the Kong part of the Galaxy fell. You remember that the Kong's had that part under control when the Galaxy broke up, right?”

“Yeah, you told me that.” Mona said.

“Well, it survived the shift.” said Larry. “Look toward the Kong Jungles.” Mona imagined the jungle in that area and immediately saw a red haired Koopa on a computer next to a number of electronic devices. “He got into your Galaxy Core. Pretty sneaky.”

“Yeah. I'll go take care of him.” said Larry, following Tycho 2 into the crowd.

“And I'll take care of this.” Mona replied. Larry smiled then turned to the table. “Sorry for interrupting, but an emergency came up relating to my family, so Mona will take the reigns from here. Thanks for understanding.” With that, he quickly made his way out of the room and towards the radio room with Tycho 2. Upon entering, he saw another of the radio team, Tycho 8 speaking to Tommy with his transmitter.

“He's here now.” Tycho 8 said, giving the transceiver to Larry. “Hey Tommy, this is your uncle Larry. Well met.”

“Awesome!” Tommy exclaimed. “I have a problem and I need some help.”

“You're stuck and can't get home.” said Larry, finishing for him. 

“Yeah...looks like I'm far from home.” said Tommy, looking at a map. “I traveled over an ocean or something. I never learned how to build boats or anything, and the Kong's aren't too happy cause I attacked them. The Kremlings said they were the bad guys.”

“It's all politics.” said Larry. “Kremlings want their banana hoard, they always go after it. Kong's want the Kremling Crew to be destroyed. They always fight over that region. The real problem is that you're caught in that fighting and getting out on your own wont be easy.”

“I saw some bodies coming in.” Tommy mentioned. “They looked like Kremlings.”

“They probably tried to get in.” said Larry. “Which means you're being targeted. K. Rool wouldn't let something like the Kong Sector slip out of his hands, especially in a world like this.”

“Yeah. I came across a few of them.” Tommy said. “They threatened me, so I told them who I was.”

“Crap.” Larry muttered. He had tried to leave everyone alone to live out their own lives without any magical interference, and his brother Iggy was of like mind as well. This included Ludwig's recent capture by one of the gangs in Bambesh Valley. It was a hot debate in his mind and he had a hard time settling it for himself: should he treat his cousins better than everyone else? Should be treat them like the “royalty” that they are, like how he was once treated? The family was no longer living under one roof, but instead were spread across the world in their own enclaves or otherwise. Considering his own experiences, Larry had decided to let the children decide their own fates, and make their own choices rather than be shuffled around by the interests of their uncles. It was not for a lack of caring: Larry kept watch over them everyday. But they each had what none of his siblings had in their youth: freedom of choice, and Larry didn't want to take that away from them. 

However, in the case of Tommy it was better to rescue him then to leave him. Being a son of Ludwig, if he was left to his fate then Larry knew he'd be hounded for it by Ludwig and Kylie for the rest of his life. As a result, his influence on the council of monarchs would lessen as it was inevitable that none would be in favor of such a decision except for perhaps Iggy. Also, considering K. Rool's squadrons patrolling that land, it would be a matter of time before he knew of the Koopaling's existence. Holding him hostage for revenge against Bowser subjugating him in the past was a political mess Larry wished to avoid as well.

“Alright Tommy, you're the exception.” said Larry, relenting. “I don't normally do this, but you don't know the danger you're in and the mess it would cost everyone. Hold still for a moment, alright?”

Tommy eyed the computer and saw that the file transfer was complete. He took out the memory card and shut off the computer before heading back to the radio. “Okay.” he transmitted, putting the card in his pocket. A few moments later, he saw himself being surrounded by a dark, yet rainbowish light that soon encompassed his whole vision. As the vision cleared, he saw he was no longer inside the Galaxy, but inside a strange room where the walls were shiny and seemed to be made of black glass. Around him, he saw electric equipment stacked together with wires crossing this way and that. Four people surrounded him, one of them being a tall Koopa sporting a pair of horns with a sky blue mohawk. The horns were similar to his mother's.

“So you're Tommy.” Larry began. “I'm Larry, your youngest uncle and the blood king.”

“Thanks for helping me.” said Tommy. “But what's a blood king?”

“I'll tell you as we walk. Come on.” Larry gestured as he walked towards the room's entrance. “I'm a busy Koopa and time is everything. Thanks for letting me know guys. I'd at least give a wave to the guys who helped save you, Tommy.”

“Thanks...”

“Don't worry about it. It's our job.” said Tycho 2. “I'm Pete by the way. That's Jake and Three is Aidan.”

“Another Pete?” Tommy murmured to himself. “Thank you guys. I had no idea what I would have done. I don't know much about radios yet...or finding food.”

“Most don't...don't worry about it.” said Jake. Tommy waved to the rest before following his uncle out the doorway and down a wide hall. 

“The Blood King is responsible for the whole family.” Larry explained. “But he's only allowed to own a single piece of land: this place. Your mom is the one in charge of the kingdom. She's the Earth Queen.”

“Do you know where she is?” Tommy asked. “And where my brothers and sisters are?”

“I know what the whole family is doing 24/7.” said Larry. “Your mother and your siblings were attacked by a gang and were separated. Ludwig tried to rescue her but while trying to protect her, he was captured along with Xavier and Shirley. They are being held captive and are being moved into the Bambesh Valley. Your mother took Samantha and fled to Lemmy's Castle to the northeast. Elizabeth and Trent made it out on their own and are trying to get inside the same castle. So your family got split up...four ways including you.”

Tommy was silent for a moment. What he said brought up too many questions, and he sensed this disaster was more severe than his father had told him. “What about Amy? You didn't say anything about her yet.”

“Yeah...” Larry stopped walking and remembered briefly seeing her fall through the sky during the shift. “She didn't make it.”

“...what?”

“She's gone. Her parachute got torn up and she fell to the ground. The impact killed her. Yeah...sorry.” He patted him on the back. “Lost my sister too. Everyone lost someone in...the end of the world.”

But Tommy was barely listening as he struggled to fight back the tears forming in his eyes. Suddenly, he let out a cry as he spun around and punched the wall behind him. “Ow!” The wall refused to give and Tommy was sent to the floor with a throbbing claw. He cried instead from the self inflicted pain.

“It's not glass, Tommy.” said Larry. “I don't know what it is. Not even uncle Iggy knows what it is. Did you break anything?” Tommy merely shook his head as he grasped his claw.

“Alright, come on.” Larry reached down and pulled Tommy to his feet with his good claw. Tommy wiped the tears from his eyes. “You have to stay strong through this. Only you can heal you, but that doesn't mean you can't have some support. Come on, I want you to meet a few people.”

Tommy remained silent as he followed his uncle down the hallway. He couldn't believe that his sister was dead, and what had happened to his siblings. It felt like the world was indeed falling apart and he didn't know what to do. A part of him wanted to try and save his father and siblings, but another part felt that he wasn't strong enough to do so. In his current emotional tumult, he remained unsure what to do.

They rounded a few corners until they entered another long hallway. The sun shined through the western windows, indicating the day was growing late. At length, Larry stopped in front of what appeared to be a part of the wall before it suddenly gave way and left an opening to walk through. Looking inside, Tommy saw a small room with two small Koopalings somewhat younger than he. The first was busy building a small fort made out of gray diamond blocks and only his bald head could be seen. The other was seated not far from it and had spiked black hair billowing toward the front along with a dark red shell. She looked up with a flat expression. “Yes daddy?”

“Maynard, Ashley, this is Tommy.” said Larry. “He's one of your first cousins. He's been through a rough time so treat him nice, alright?”

Maynard poked his head up from the top of the fort. He was indeed bald and appeared fat and sported a brown shell. “You're Tommy?” he asked, pointing at him. Tommy merely nodded, still lost in his depression.

“I have to head back to a meeting, but I'll come around later to check up on you guys for supper.” said Larry, walking out the door. With a wave, the walls re-converged and Tommy was left with what he presumed were Larry's kids.

“Can you help me?” Maynard asked, pushing a large block into place. “I'm making a fort to sleep in and the sun's going down already. You can sleep here too if you want.”

Tommy shrugged. “What do you need help with?”

“The blocks.” Maynard pointed to a large stack of them in the corner. Tommy went over and tried picking one up himself and found that he was barely able to do so. “Hnnng!”

“Don't hurt yourself.” Maynard rushed over and helped him place the next block on the fort wall.

* * *

Leaving Tommy with his kids, Larry looked out towards the western ocean wondering what to do with him. The kid needed to go home and he knew that portions of the Kong Jungle were heading to Erzembar with hopes of being fed along with a number of other peoples around the world...so he saw in Iggy's mind. Tommy should have went on one of those voyages and he would've been on his way back already had he not attacked the Kongs. Iggy looked busy attending to new inhabitants within the newly raised complex, but weren't they all busy these days?

“Hey Iggy.” Larry called out to him via telepathy.

“You rescued Tommy?” he replied, showing a group of hard working Toads into a home. 

“Yeah, I need to send him your way.” said Larry. In a moment, Iggy appeared in front of him. “Amazing he even survived that!” Iggy commented. “But I agree. Plus I could teach him a few things when the UmNaru decide to try and take the Valley and Lemmy's Castle.”

“You think they'll go with that plan?” asked Larry.

“Narec's got the whole bunch united.” said Iggy. “He's just waiting for the other side to come back together. That's one reason why Ludwig's a captive of his so called useless eaters. Karma yes, but it's also a trigger point. It will bring them all back together.”

“I get you.” Larry said, understanding his point of view. “They want their old rule back, and they can't do that with everyone scattered across the world.”

“That's why we must never go in there.” explained Iggy. “Because that's what they want: to lead the moles into the honey trap! The Valley of the Koopa's is one of those traps, but it looks like you figured that out already.”

“Yeah...” Larry muttered, remembering seeing Roy and Vincent's flight through that dreaded place. “I could have quieted that area down, but something told me to back off. That whole area was stirred up intentionally. The Kings there called my name and I knew something was up.”

“Bingo! The UmNaru always had that place under their thumb.” said Iggy. “Why wouldn't they? So many Earth Kings and Queens under their influence...that's a major amount of black magic in one spot, and easy to manipulate as well! You did the right thing.” 

“I wanted to help them, but there wasn't much I could do that wouldn't jeopardize my position.” said Larry. “So yeah, that kinda sucked.”

“Speaking of Vincent, we need to call another meeting.” said Iggy. “Not just to see all of us alive, but there's a lot of problems that most can't see and they need to know.”

“Did that monarch's chamber even survive the shift?” Larry asked.

“Of course it did! The chamber rests on old rock of the Mushroom Range.” explained Iggy. “There's a few cracks and boulders when I checked the place out but its largely still usable. The UmNaru will be meeting soon too so this is our chance.”

“Narec is trying to pull his side together anyway.” Larry said. “I don't think Roy even knows Narec is still alive.”

“He suspects it but he doesn't really know.” said Iggy. “The more important thing is what's under our feet right now.” Iggy pointed to the floor.

“...is it a threat to the survival colony?” Larry asked suspiciously.

“At the moment? No.” Iggy responded. “But I feel it is tied to everything we've been doing since...all of this started. I'll tell the whole story at the meeting, but here's the gist of it: Koopa is buried underneath Genlic, and he's not at rest.”

“So the rumor is true.” Larry said, remembering hearing the news while on board the Galaxy. “I had a feeling. They say this was the very spot Koopa landed upon when he first visited the planet. But what's this news about him not at rest?”

“How long until your group can settle on the islands?” Iggy asked. 

“We're drawing that out now in a meeting upstairs, about what we've found so far.” said Larry. “You said this wouldn't be a threat.”

“And I said not right now.” said Iggy. “But I have a bad feeling about this. He's not at rest, he's active. We can't see Koopa when we use the wands, only when they break or maybe some other spell I don't know about. But Penny broke the wand.”

“How the hell did that happen?” Larry asked. 

“You remember our conversation when I told you how I died.” Iggy mentioned, tapping his head indicating it took place in their minds. “Before I came to, her form metamorphosed into a form unrecognizable to the wand's programming. The three wands were built to our physical specifications, to living creatures, not those of a plant...long story, but I came to with my broken wand and saw Koopa under Genlic who then attacked me.”

“Why can't we see Koopa with the wands intact then?” Larry asked.

“Exactly! Now you see my point! What is the will of Koopa? Is it for us or for himself? Considering he attacked me and called me inferior, I would have to question his motives. He made the wands, and the wands made us who we are now. That doesn't mean we control the power in the wands. Could you trust a power you couldn't control, Larry?”

Larry frowned and looked out at the horizon. But Iggy looked at the floor suspiciously. “I know he's listening to us. He always was. How much has he manipulated our decisions? And why is he so interested in Roy's son?”

“Vincent? Maybe because he's an UmNaru outside their protocol.” Larry suggested.

“Yes, but there's more to it.” said Iggy. “There's more to all of this...if Koopa is the one driving the UmNaru to do what they do, then they operate by his will alone...which means our real enemy...” Iggy pointed to the floor again. “See the problem?”

“So you're saying that Koopa willed the line of Marthos to control our line to better impress his will over everyone?” Larry asked. “That means we're dealing with an evil ancestor who probably wants total control over his descendants. It also means he knows about everything we just said...so what now?”

“The plan is to not make a plan.” Iggy replied. “Because he knows every plan we come up with, so every plan is forfeit upon conception. But you control the family. I wonder if that includes Koopa himself.”

“I don't think I'm powerful enough to control Koopa if he's able to subtly control all of us.” said Larry. “And if he knows what I'm already planning, then I'd be quick work.” 

“I think we should ask the Kappur.” said Iggy. “We need to talk to them anyway.”

“Oh yeah, the hybrids. They still haven't said much about them.” Larry mentioned. 

“Probably because Koopa is listening.” Iggy said. “Makes me wonder, but I shouldn't. Heh. Well, we should do this ASAP, maybe tomorrow and ask for the Kappur when we're there.”

“Yeah, I'll let Mona know, and the others.” said Larry. “By the way, congratulations.”

Iggy smiled. “Thanks! With the way the genome is sequencing right now, we think it'll be a boy. But I should thank you for finding out how to do it. Penny wouldn't have gone with it otherwise.”

Larry smirked. “No problem. It was a little trick the Blood Kings upstairs taught me. But I should get back to the meeting.”

“I'll come by after your supper to take Tommy to Erzembar.” said Iggy. “Alright! See you.” With that, Iggy disappeared in a flash and Larry looked back toward the room his kids were in. It was clear that the younger generation was the real target as their minds were more malleable than his own generation. He would have to keep an eye over them as the Transformation progressed and make sure they remained able to think clearly and make their own decisions. If what Iggy told him was true, then he had been living on top the world's greatest evil this whole time, and the roles of the three wands were greatly misunderstood. Worst case scenario, Genlic would become a battleground and Larry knew he had to maneuver his survival colony onto the neighboring islands before that ever happened. With a new mindset, Larry headed back upstairs to rejoin Mona and the rest of the meeting.


	50. Heaven & Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captured travel into hell, and they witness first hand the barbarity of Koopa.  
> From hell, the King travels to a place several stages just below heaven. But there is no rest for the wicked.  
> The monarchs debate their plight just as the wicked assemble their greatest ones together.

A bump and Shirley came to. Her wrists were bound and her mouth was sealed, but after seeing her father and brother across from her in similar states she remained silent. They rode upon a wooden wagon driven by an old truck, with several mean looking Koopa's sitting on the truck's bed. They were being transported but to where? She tried to turn around peek over the side. What she saw was nothing short of utter devastation: homes torn apart and destroyed by the forces of nature, debris that littered the road, dirtied and injured people that wondered past them with pale faces, forests that looked like they went through a shredder in places and plumes of smoke that trailed through the sky. Corpses lay scattered everywhere, with some bring huddled over by heartbroken loved ones, while others were repeatedly stepped over by survivors in their distraught confusion. Along with the dead animals that lay on broken farms, the smell of death was everywhere and it took Shirley a moment as she recovered from the initial shock. "Mmph!" She turned around to try and to escape the smell, but now it was everywhere and in her state she was helpless against it. At length, Shirley saw smoke rising into the air close by and felt compelled to turn around again. Across from her, she saw a broken home with its walls blown out and a charred roof, and in front of it were a group of Koopa's roasting food over a bonfire. No, wait. That looked like...a corpse?! One from the group took a long machete and hacked off the leg of their former family member, now roasted to a crisp.

"Mmmph!" Shirley screamed and turned back around immediately. Why would they eat other people?! Wasn't there other food they could find? 

"Hey! Shut up!" one of the vagabonds shouted from the back of the truck. "Don't like what you see? Blame your dad, that fuckwit that did nothing and let us starve while he lived in his fancy flying castle! No more of that shit! Now he's back down here with us and we'll show him a thing or two, so save your screaming until then."

Shirley looked at her father again, who was hunched over in the corner, still unconscious from being hit in the head earlier. Next to him was her older brother Xavier, who was looking intently at her and shaking his head. Shirley looked down and again wondered where they were heading, and especially what would happen to them.

The truck pulled into a grassy lot with a long dirt driveway. At the end was a large circular tent that appeared to be the size of a small house. Around it were many smaller tents with Koopa's conversing with each other, sitting on the grass or on old beer coolers. Some of the vagabonds looked towards the incoming truck and started cheering at the sight, but one Koopa quickly got out of the truck and started shushing them.

"Calm down! Y'all get your turn!" he shouted as the Koopas on the truck bed climbed into the wagon. "Chief gets first dibs, then he'll give you the word." The Koopa's took Shirley and Xavier by force and dragged them out of the wagon. Four other Koopa's lifted up the unconscious Ludwig and slowly carried him off after the other two, who were being dragged towards the tent. Some swore at their faces, while a few even spit on them with disgust. Shirley didn't know what to think, already traumatized by the abuse let alone the hellish landscape. What did they do to deserve this?

The trio were pushed through a tent flap and found themselves surrounded by a large number of drunk Koopa's laughing to themselves. Xavier was suddenly thrown into a side room through another flap and was gone. Ludwig was brought to the center of the tent, where a long table filled with food lay surrounded by chairs. Across from it and separate from the others was a single chair with shackles. Ludwig was quickly fastened in them, oblivious to what was occurring. From the table stood Jr. Troopa with a wide grin on his face. "No, I can wake him up!" he claimed, his mouth full of food. "Watch this!"

Suddenly, Shirley was pushed into another room and fell upon the grass. A big vagrant with a red bandana stepped in, wielding a large bullet bill launcher that rested upon his shoulder. 'Don't even try to scurry away." he warned. "You're too pretty to blow up, you know that?"

"Mmmph!" Shirley exclaimed with disgust. A punch was heard outside the room and an uproar of laughter followed. The vagrant couldn't help but look at the scene outside. Ludwig was being punched repeatedly in the head by Jr. Troopa. Around ten punches in and Ludwig finally opened his eyes. "What?" was all he said before being punched square in the face. Cheers went all around.

"Good morning, you fucktard." Jr. said, grabbing a chalice of wine off the long table. Ludwig soon realized that he was shacked to the chair, hands and feet. "Welcome to my little abode of delicacy, richness and...deserved justice. Where everyone, if they do their part, gets a piece of the prize and a place to stay. No red tape, no royalist bullshit, just effort and reward."

"For those who cooperate with--" 

Jr. Troopa punched him in the face again. "Shut up, I'm talking. So everybody gets their piece if they put the effort into it." He drank from his chalice. "Course that's how it should be. But the Old Kingdom didn't work that way. The royalist douchebags controlled all the shitty lives below them and horded all the wealth for themselves. Then you had the nobles and merchants, they had their perks but they ran on treadmills just to make a living. Then you had everyone else, the workers, those slime ball wage slaves that you hate so much, don't you? Fuck those guys, those ignorant cocksuckers who piss away their lives in their hatred for everything, how could they understand the elegance, the pomposity, the sport of a royalist life, drinking wine made from the backs of the despised? That's the problem with you royals, you're always trying to separate yourselves from the common idiot, but when the world ends, what happens? You're back down here with us. No more riches to run with, just those guys you hated and spat on. Your little class system disappears and suddenly everyone's the same. You thought you could rise above us in your little clone of the Galaxy and watch over our misery just like you did before, but look what happened. No more Mr. Class, it's all gone. We're all classless now. No more rich and poor bullshit, no more standing above me and throwing my ass out of the corps. Now it's eye for an eye."

Growing tired of listening to his boss speaking, the vagrant turned back into the room and saw Shirley struggling on the grass below him. "Oh, you ain't getting out of here. Don't even try. Cause if you do, they will fuck you up." Shirley turned away and hid her arms, hoping the brute wouldn't notice. She heard a faint muffling in the room next to her, and knew that her brother was struggling as well. 

"Oh what's this?" He turned Shirley over and saw that she had somehow broken a part of the bonds that tied her hands. She immediately grew pale. "What did I tell ya? Kids don't fucking listen. They never do what they're told, that's why you have to bind them. Every single one I was with never listened until I beat them." He backhanded Shirley across the face and she gave out a cry of pain. "But y'know, I kind of like the rebellious ones. Makes them more fun to play with." Suddenly, he thrust himself forward and pinned her neck to the ground as he ripped off her shirt with the other hand, exposing her prepubescent chest. "You're gonna like what daddy's got." he spat as he unzipped his pants, and Shirley went wide eyed at the sight.

Ludwig overheard the muffling of several voices in the background of Jr. Troopa's chatter and the hushed talk of his minions that surrounded them. Distinguishing them as muffled cries, Ludwig's eyes darted to the side where he noticed in a covered room to his side two pairs of legs, one of a large Koopa and the other those of a small child. Ludwig went wide eyed in shock as reality suddenly hit him then. It was one thing to capture a former Koopa King for his crimes, it was another to torture his children and scar them for life.

"...so the method of torture was really well thought out." Jr. Troopa continued, oblivious to Ludwig's suspicions. "And we decided to--"

"You will release me." Ludwig suddenly interrupted, his blood beginning to boil. "Now."

But Jr. Troopa instead pulled out a bowie knife and quickly sliced across Ludwig's cheek with it. "I think you are done for and have no right to tell me what to do." he exclaimed. Ludwig felt blood run down his cheek and onto the ground. That was the last straw. In one of the few moments of his life, his mind went over the edge and he found himself casting a quick fire spell learned from the days of Bowser. His arms quickly glowed red and the shackles fell to the floor in a melted mess. Jr. Troopa's troops immediately prepared themselves for combat and grabbed what they could find, but Ludwig jumped from the chair and landed on Jr's long table, smashing a good deal of his food. Jr responded by darting to the side and thrusting the knife towards Ludwig, but the Koopaling instead exhaled a powerful swath of flame at the defenseless Jr. who was quickly set ablaze by the onslaught. Flames caught onto the tent fabric and quickly spread in all directions. Others attempted to rally to their leader's help and rushed toward Ludwig, who then thrust a blue spectrum spell at the pack sending them flying backwards into each other, some becoming impaled on their own weaponry. Ludwig's fire storm did not relent as he watched Jr's skin melt away and his pained screams intensified into a shrill cry. It was only when his voice ceased did Ludwig relent and in place stood a charred and blackened corpse which quickly fell to the ground, its eyeless face of death staring back at Ludwig.

But Ludwig laughed in jest, and instead with another air spell thrust Jr.'s corpse into the crowd at the entrance as they attempted to reenter the fiery chamber. Many fled at the sight and ran off into the distance, but many outside were now in a state of chaos as some tried to pack up and leave while others seemed ready for a fight.

Finally affording the time, Ludwig jumped from the table and immediately entered one of the side rooms he had seen earlier. There, his worst nightmare was confirmed: directly in front of him was a large Koopa on top of a young child who seemingly lay motionless against the beast as he thrust inside of her over and over again.

"Yeah, this is what you want isn't it?" he muttered as his panting grew heavier. But he was oblivious of the bigger beast that stood behind him and by the time he felt the pain on his back it was too late. He suddenly yelled in pain as flame swept across his back with his skin slowly peeling away from the scorching heat until his musculature was exposed. His pleasure now turned into an endless agony, Ludwig lifted him up into the air and slammed him into the ground back first, breaking his spinal cord upon impact. He did not move afterwords. In his place, Ludwig saw his daughter lying naked on the grass and staring upwards with a frozen expression. She looked traumatized.

"Shirley!" Ludwig called out, but was interrupted when loud cries came from behind him and fireballs whizzed from behind his back. Turning around, he saw they had Magikoopa's this time around and suddenly Ludwig was reminded of the UmNaru and their plots against his family. They were the ones who did this. Like little puppets they went up against him not knowing their true motivations. But this only served to fuel Ludwig's increasing anger further and he breathed flame across the dozens who came against them, setting them all aflame. Most ran out of the tent screaming in agony and some fell lifeless as the tent started to fall apart amidst the flames that consumed it.

"Shirley!" he called again before spotting another Koopa stumbling out of the adjacent room. He nearly breathed another fireball until he saw it was it was his oldest son Xavier, now only half conscious from all the smoke. He looked around with a dazed expression. 

"Xavier! Over here now!" Ludwig called out before heading back into the room and grabbing what remained of Shirley's clothes. He slapped her head, but she didn't seem to respond. Realizing she was traumatized, he picked her up and tried to stand her on her feet as Xavier walked inside and saw her condition. "What...the..."

"Put her clothes on!" Ludwig ordered, motioning for Xavier to come over. 

"What...did—"

"Put her clothes on and stay behind me!" Ludwig said with increasing irritation.

"O-okay..." Xavier replied, not even questioning it. Ludwig promptly moved forward and ripped apart the now inflamed flap to the room, with Xavier struggling to put Shirley's pants on as she almost seemed like she didn't want to move. "Come on!" Xavier yelled to her before coughing. "Do you want to live?! Come on!"

Shirley didn't respond, but her legs started to move and she found herself standing up leaning on Xavier as he tried to put her shirt back on. With her torn clothes back on, Xavier quickly forced Shirley to walk with him as the smoke began to take an effect on him.

"Move it!!!" he heard Ludwig call in anger before the sound of him breathing more fire came to his ears. Stumbling through the main chamber, they struggled to step over the charred remains of Jr.'s men in their haste as they found their father guarding the main entrance while fighting off the last of what remained of the camp. Seeing them approach, Ludwig stomped off and breathed a few fireballs at the now retreating camp, with one hitting a gas can which exploded in a ball of flame. The remnants had all ran off into the woods, far from the burning tent and the now decimated camp destroyed by the once great Koopaling.

Ludwig turned around and slapped Shirley again. "Are you here?" he called, and Shirley nodded meekly, unblinking. Nodding, he turned back around and started to head down the dirt road from which they came, now littered with debris.

Xavier breathed in the fresh air as much as he could, and gathered what will power he had left after his own torture with Jr.'s men. "Where are we going?" Xavier managed to called out.

"Home!" Ludwig responded with a roar. "I will have my vengeance upon all those who have tortured, mutilated and raped the will of my lifeblood! UmNaru! Are you listening to my words? My revenge is at hand, and I will see to it that all your brethren, and all your wives and all your children will receive the same treatment my family has experienced! UmNaru! Your time is ending!!!"

Xavier looked on, not fully understanding him and wondered how much his father had slipped. But the blue haired beast did not stop walking and at length Xavier and Shirley followed on, not wanting to be yelled at again. They needed to find a way back home, and fast.

* * *

The guard swore he saw two lone figures heading towards the castle in the distance. "Hey Fred! Got a few coming in at 3 o clock!"

"Wha? Who'd come from that way?" Fred replied, using a make shift telescope. His question was answered when he saw the memorable mug of Roy Koopa along with a younger Koopa with him. "Oh shit." he muttered. "It's the King. Looks like he went through hell cause he looks terrible."

"Alright...relax." said the guard, and the men around him eased their arms, mainly consisting of projectiles and a few wands. Turning on his solar powered LED flashlight, the guard made his way down from the roof before emerging from one of the back doors of the castle.

But to Roy, he didn't like what he saw. While the majority of the glacial ice had now melted, he was not blind to the enormous camp that lay at the castle's foot with thousands of make shift shelters sprawling into the distance. That meant Morton wasn't doing his job, and he already knew that Kylie wasn't.

"Well, welcome back." the guard began, interrupting Roy's thoughts. "They told me you were coming from the southeast, not the northeast."

"Things didn't work out." Roy replied. "Went through the Valley."

The guard whistled aloud upon realizing what he meant. "If you came just an hour earlier, we would've given you a big feast to chow on, but supper's already done. Maybe I can convince the chefs to cook something up for you two, you never know."

"Where's Lemmy?" Roy asked.

"He's inside with a bunch of musicians." said the guard before eying the youth suspiciously. "Who's this?"

"Vincent Koopa." Vincent replied. "I'm his son."

"Oh, my apologies. I have to question everyone who comes through these doors." the guard said. "Follow me." They passed through the doorway and down a long hallway with many twists and turns. Another corner led them into a large room where a number of people were seen chatting to themselves in small groups. A band performed in the corner, playing stringed and otherwise improvised instruments. Finished plates were scattered about, the remains of the daily feast now being cleaned up by a number of volunteers. It was a gathering of people from all walks of life, which to Roy was typical of Lemmy. But for Vincent, this was not what he expected at all from a castle. In many ways, what he saw was the opposite of what he had been through until now.

Lemmy was spotted heading towards them from a group of dancers. He went wide eyed as he noticed the wounds and blood stains on them. "Woah...what happened yo you guys? Do you need a medic or something? I'll go get one."

"He needs one." Roy said, pointing at Vincent's neck caked with dried blood.

"It stopped bleeding a while ago." Vincent protested, not used to being taken care of.

"Almost cut your head off." Roy pressed. "If it went any deeper, it would cut your veins and you'd be dead. Count yourself lucky." Vincent frowned.

"Vincent?" Lemmy asked, pointing at him.

"Yeah that's me." Vincent said.

"Cool, well, welcome to my castle!" he exclaimed. "I mean, it's nothing like one, but everyone calls it that." A trio of nurses made their way over then. "They'll take care of you, just follow them." said Lemmy before they dragged off Vincent into a corner of the room while speaking to him all at once. "So is your adventure over now?" Lemmy asked Roy.

"Nah. Gotta go down in the valley." said Roy. "Sounds like Morton hightailed it."

"That's what everyone keeps saying." said Lemmy.

"Where's Kylie?" Roy asked. 

"In her room taking care of Sam." Lemmy replied. "But with the way she's acting...she's not really acting like a real Queen you know. She talks to me and her kids, but doesn't do anything else. So I've been doing everything cause I think this whole thing made her nutty."

"Probably can't handle it." Roy commented, noting that Kylie hasn't talked to him since he contacted her.

Lemmy frowned. "Yeah. One of her daughters was killed, Larry told her a day ago. Her son was missing, but he was found a few hours ago...but Ludwig and two of his kids were kidnapped when they tried to save Kylie when their castle crashed, and a few people here say they were seen with Jr Troopa's gang in the valley."

Roy sighed. More death. "Karma. Should've seen it coming Luddy, with all the shit you pulled. But I didn't see it either, not until it hit me."

Lemmy said nothing. It was the one thing he amongst everyone else was trying to avoid: death.

"You're a king already." Roy mused. "In all but name."

"Yeah I guess." Lemmy muttered. "But when I think of a king, I think of what dad was: top down, strict rules, greedy, power hungry, my way or the highway, you know. And I'm nothing like that. You know companies ran the same way and I didn't like that either. Dad hated me so much because I wanted everyone to have a voice, and not just let some pretty guy announce his absolute word over his peons. So I don't think I'm a king...I wouldn't call myself that."

To Roy's mind, Lemmy filled the role better than he did, considering how much he had been away from the survivors and how little he had directed things since his departure. Lemmy also had the Wand of Koopa, considered the most powerful wand on the planet and so far the only wand the UmNaru could not match against. But at the same time, Lemmy was missing some vital cards that could land him the role, including his gullibility and lack of seriousness when it came to these matters. Plus, he didn't know how to wield the Wand of Koopa properly and didn't seem to care to learn how to. While Lemmy may have been the popular pick, he was no warrior and only the Wand of Koopa would save him if the UmNaru attacked them directly. With his lack of organization, he would have to rely on the common folk to defend the land. Then again, that's where things were going weren't they?

"Oh thank god!!" came a cry, interrupting Roy's thoughts once again. From a large archway in the back came Kylie Koopa, who ran out towards a group of Koopas heading into the room. She hugged two of the children in the group, one with green hair and one with yellow. "More of her kids." Roy commented.

"Yeah, that's some good news!" Lemmy smiled. "Now there's just Ludwig and the other two--" The Earth Wand blinked suddenly and Roy took it out to find his brother's head above it. Hi Roy, hi Lemmy." Iggy greeted.

"What's up?" Roy asked.

"We're hosting another meeting." said Iggy. "Same place as before. This one is a little urgent."

"Right now?" Roy muttered.

"Er, as soon as possible." Iggy clarified. "Larry and Mona are here already. I was going to ask Kylie, but her mind is not all there at the moment."

"Yeah, just got back here." Roy said, speaking of Lemmy's Castle. "There's no kings or queens here: only Koopa's."

"That's part of the issue." said Iggy. "But it also has to do with the UmNaru, what drives them and a bunch of other things."

"I'll grab something and come up." Roy replied, then dissipated the spell. "Gotta get food first, then tell Vincent what's happening."

* * *

"Tch, typical Roy." Iggy muttered as he put his Spirit Wand away. "This is time sensitive."

"How could he have survived that spell?" Mona asked. 

"The UmNaru have the equivalent of the most powerful white spells." answered Iggy. "So you would have to be skilled to dodge it, but it's possible."

"I'm more worried on how I couldn't see him up until now." Larry said. 

"They have a way of covering their tracks." said Iggy. A moment later, and Roy and Lemmy appeared in the ancient room, which had sustained little damage due to its location. The ancient jungles below looked as they did before. Roy took a bite of the veggie burger in his hand before waving.

"Well, it's good to see you all alive." said Lemmy, trying to stay positive.

"For now, anyway." said Iggy. "I died and came back to life...again. Penny's fine but she's not going to be here since...she laid an egg."

"Humans can do that?" Lemmy asked, unaware of the new process.

"With the wands in proximity." explained Iggy. "Larry found the process. But we need to move on. I know you guys are having problems with your kids, but everything is still a mess around the world. Hundreds of thousands are dying every day. Every. Day."

"Seriously???" Lemmy blinked with surprise. 

Larry sighed. "The Kappur warned of a 90% die off rate, due to starvation mostly." 

"So people are going insane, and you don't want to see what Penny or I see." said Iggy. "Completely messed up."

"So what now?" Roy asked. "Could make Lemmy's place official, but that's his place. Kylie needs to call the shots too, but she's fucked up. They only listen to Lemmy. Won't listen to Kylie or me. They rule themselves, but need food and a place to sleep."

"They're not going to listen to kings anymore." Iggy confirmed.

"Then why have Earth Kings?" Roy questioned. "Let Lemmy do it."

Iggy frowned. This touched upon what had been bothering him for a while. However, he still didn't have all of the facts and decided to remain silent.

"With people taking power into their own hands, it seems the monarchs are becoming more irrelevant." said Larry. "But at the same time, they are required to protect said people against the UmNaru, who are making their moves on them already. So in a way we are becoming more protectors than rulers or law givers. They don't like you just for your blood Lemmy."

"Yeah I know." Lemmy said. "Many of them are my friends cause they like me as a person."

"Bingo! That's it." Mona exclaimed. "That's how it works in our place too. We just all get along." Roy grunted at that. He knew he had no chance in that department and suddenly questioned the purpose of his position if the old way was falling away.

"They still need strong authority." Roy reasoned to Lemmy. "You can survive, but can you fight? They'll attack you, come after me too. Want me to be under their thumb again. If you become king, I'll be their puppet."

"Roy's right." said Larry. "The best setup is what we have now, except for maybe Kylie. But Roy, I think you're better serving as a protector for now rather than the Kingdom's administrator. The last thing we need is to piss off more people. If they like Lemmy, then he'll serve as de facto king but not in name. Because if he did, the UmNaru would see him and attack his castle immediately. They don't consider you very powerful Lemmy, even if you hold the Wand of Koopa because like you said, you don't know how to use it. Better to give them the false belief that Roy can still be turned back to their side."

"If I need it to defend my friends, that might change." said Lemmy. "But yeah. I'm not a warrior like Roy is. Knowing my group, they would probably defend themselves first. What are the UmNaru doing right now?"

"They're having a big meeting too." said Iggy.

"Now?" Lemmy said. "That's a coincidence."

"Actually..." Iggy got an idea. "I could probably eavesdrop on them."

"Isn't that a little risky?" Mona asked.

"They would see you guys if you tried." said Iggy. "They always have their eyes on the Blood monarchs. However, looking into the sun is not very pleasant, is it?" Iggy chucked as he prepared an incantation, but as he did so he saw something in their meeting he didn't want to see, and stopped short of casting his spell. "I got to do this now." he said to himself. He didn't have all of the facts, but the UmNaru were making a gamble and all bets were off now.

"You going to tell them?" Larry mentally communicated.

"Do what?" Roy asked.

Iggy nodded. "They're under a long incantation right now." Iggy thought back. "I have time to explain this." He looked up. "I found something weird when I came back to life." He then explained to them of his vision of Koopa residing underneath Genlic and his battle with him. "But the thing is this. You can only see Koopa when the Wand is broken. Other than changing your physical form into something the wand is not programmed to handle, I don't know how to exactly do this."

"So, this is the will of Koopa." Roy said as a matter of fact. 

"His will seems to subtly flow through the wands." said Iggy. "And I theorize that whenever we choose or make an action apart from his will, then we run into obstacles."

"Then why use them?" Roy asked. "He's corrupt. Corrupted himself or someone else. We're just his tools using these."

"Not totally." Iggy countered. "We still have our own free wills that can counter his if they're strong enough. Plus if we get rid of the Wands now, the UmNaru would find them and we'd all be screwed. Destroying them would be a bad idea since we'd lose our ability to see what the UmNaru are doing and we'd be flying blind, not to mention losing our...height. I think we're stuck with them until the UmNaru are defeated."

"Like with your trip through the Valley of the Koopa's." Larry continued. "I wouldn't be able to see what you were going through there if I didn't have this wand."

"Then why didn't you help us?" Roy asked, annoyed. "We were swamped to our necks with the dead. Was lucky that Vincent's a good fighter. That was hell getting out of there."

"Because it was a honey trap." said Larry. "That whole area was more inflamed than it should have been. The UmNaru were trying to draw us out."

"They were trying to get Vincent especially." explained Iggy. "He's technically a part of their group since he was given their sign just after birth, and the UmNaru are traditionally not allowed to mingle with the commoners. They use minions to do that, like what happened to Ludwig recently."

"I was gonna go down and help him." Roy mentioned.

Larry shook his head. "He's on insanity row. He's trying to run from it, but he went through a ton shit already and still is. You probably heard he got captured by Jr. Troopa's gang."

"Yeah I got that." Roy said.

"Well...he was captured with two of his kids. And he was tortured; his captors were influenced by the UmNaru. The worst part is that his kids were raped in the process--"

"For fuck's sake." Roy muttered. "Fuck that shit."

"Yeah. You know we all had to do favors." Larry hinted. "And that was all politics. But this is a new low."

Mona shook her head at all of it. "What a sick world."

"Fuck that shit." Roy repeated. "Don't care who it is. Used to see it all the time in the younger days, troops go across Peach's kingdom and take all the villagers, raped them, killed a lot of them. Said nothing, had to respect those up top. You said that yourself. But those days are gone, and then karma comes knocking. Karma's a bitch, yeah I say it a lot. But they did nothing. That's not right. We should go in and kill those fuckers."

"Ludwig already got the majority of the leaders." said Larry. "He's trying to find a way back through the valley."

"How come you guys aren't helping him out more?" Mona asked, perplexed as to their inaction.

"It's a little complex." Iggy started. "You probably know about the fight we had with him. Well that's not the only reason. You see, Ludwig's very character is a problem when it comes to the transformation because he likes to control everything he sees around him. It was like that when we were all growing up since he's the oldest of us. That worked back then, but it doesn't work now since we have our own lives and don't like to be told what to do. That trait of his never changed as we got older, and it's a problem because with the way the world is heading, it's going to be about sharing and cooperation rather than control and top down leadership that we saw under Bowser. Frankly, Ludwig is going to have to reinvent himself almost entirely if he's going to survive. That's not going to be easy.

"There's also the problem with his spiritual orientation, which I can say right now is not service to others. Not by a long shot. It makes me hesitant on helping him out, because with his current mindset he'll start to make demands for food and shelter and you know, if these were normal times that might have been okay. But now? This is life and death and you only keep those you trust closest to you. Do you really trust Ludwig with your life? I don't. I don't want him to start making demands on being treated nicer than the others and directing activities at Erzembar that he has no business in. Of course, if he decides to come around then it's a different story. What happened to him recently definitely did something to him...and there are some things floating around his head, but in the meantime he's still a danger. Do I feel bad for his kids? Of course, that's what puts me on the line so to speak. It stinks."

"You can't just take away one's kids from their parents, outside of abuse." Larry remarked. "Right now, Xavier and Shirley would probably die if Ludwig wasn't with them, and it's just an overall crappy situation. The question is, if they do reach Lemmy's Castle, will they be let in?"

"I'd let them in." said Lemmy after a moment. "But I wouldn't treat them like royals. I'd treat them like everyone else. Like with Vincent...you know I'd rather have him earn his food, right?"

"That's fine." Roy said. "Had him try to hunt his own food anyway."

"Good, cause everyone does their part at my place." said Lemmy. "I do too. Cause minus any materialistic crap that might separate us from other people...*cough*Ludwig*cough*...we're all the same. So I treat everyone the same. Kylie does some writing, I think she's doing some chronology of what happened or something. But she has a few screws loose, so yeah. I think Sam is doing something with music writing, but her leg is still broken so, she can't do much else. More of Ludwig's kids arrived just before we left, so I don't know what they're going to do yet."

"Not to burst your bubble Lemmy, but the incantation is getting close to completion." said Iggy, monitoring the UmNaru through his mind. "I think we should put it on display now." With a spell, air in the center of the room swirled with colors, and in the shape of a globe a large dark room was seen lined with pillars and mosaics in worse shape than their initial construction. A number of hooded figures were seen overlooking a large circle of chanting UmNaru. In the center was a large table, upon which lay the remains of a withered husk of a tall Koopa, it's skin now dried and leathery from decay. Its entire skull was tightly wrapped around with black cloth covering its eyes and ears down to the mouth and Lemmy swore it looked familiar. One stepped out of the circle then and threw back it's hood: Roy immediately recognized him as Narec, his head still bearing the marks of severe burns from the day the UmNaru fell to God's Wrath. 

"Oblic oblum mearain!" Narec chanted, and with his hand he let loose a fiery of purple energy into the decayed body. Immediately muscles and tissue wrapped around the corpse followed by skin and a thick layer of scales. The UmNaru began conversing amongst themselves, apparently not expecting such effectiveness. Narec had promised them their resurrection, but was this really it?

A laughter came from the table. "Your order has come to chaos and now you require my assistance I see." the corpse said with a deep voice. "But a master does not turn into a puppet of a child without foresight. Do you think that I am blind, Narec Morello?"

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Narec greeted the Vice. "Reality is as you said it."

"Then you know of what you have done to yourself." The Vice said before suddenly jumping off the table and landing in front of Narec. "You have demoted yourself willingly and in full realization of the true order of Koopa. Such a sacrifice is noteworthy, though ultimately in vain of your superficial ambitions. Your control is illusory."

"The leader of the UmNaru as it stands lies with myself." Narec pointed out. "As I have--"

"Wrong. Half bloods such as yourself never outweigh the full blooded descendants of the Naru." said the Vice. "While you may have achieved your desire for unity, it will come as a sacrifice for your ambitions. From your reckless desire to control this body, your position has now been forfeited."

Narec said nothing, suddenly realizing the error of his mistake. The UmNaru whispered amongst themselves, as those in attendance were all hybrids that had managed to survive the God's Wrath spell. Amongst the infighting earlier, they had hoped to revive a full blooded to help guide them, but if Narec was unable to control the former second in command, then what?

"You may choose to discarnate me as you wish, but you know what would occur." the Vice sneered. "And you have but one choice now." To Narec, running would be even worse and was not an option. There was indeed only one thing left to do now.

"The order welcomes back one whom we have lost." said Narec, kneeling upon the floor. The other UmNaru, well aware of the Vice's magical prowess, reluctantly bowed in turn and the Vice nodded to himself. 

"I have inherited an order of filthy children." he commented. "The fruit of those unable to control their primitive desires and now look at the result: they cannot control themselves without their guardians standing over them. Who will be the one responsible for the demise of the world's order, oh Spirit King?" He suddenly looked straight at Iggy, who made a face. "Your idea of balance is of nothing but chaos and destruction. No competent ruler now exists to bring order to a kingdom run amok. Clearly you do not understand the needs of these useless eaters: without control, they become like animals. Now will you take their freedom away from them, or shall I do the honors?"

Iggy snorted. "There is nothing to control but yourself. With the Earth's transformation, there is no need for the return of the top down rule that nearly corrupted the entire race. The UmNaru are no longer the shepherds of the planet."

"Indeed, you have proven that what was begun must be finished..." Suddenly, he fired a beam of blackness at Lemmy, who fell to the ground unconscious. Iggy fired his Spirit Wand but anticipating this, the Vice cast a conversion spell and reverted the spell back to Iggy as a vampiric black spell. Iggy's body convulsed rapidly as white energy was drained from him at a fast rate. In retaliation, Larry immediately fired the Blood Wand at the UmNaru, who grunted at the assault but held firm.

"Still a child I see." the Vice remarked, before performing the same maneuver on Larry, who collapsed to the ground as it felt like his life drained from him. Mona got up and tried to heal him, but felt herself hit by same energy. Roy cast a body slam spell at the Vice, who simply winced. In response, Roy sent a paralysis bean at the UmNaru who took it with another grunt, but he still held firm despite the pressure. "And you have gone astray from your purpose, son." he remarked. With an impressive force of will, the Vice converted the third beam and all the monarchs lay upon the ground at his mercy, slowly dying from his potent spell.

"Just as foolish as your father was." the Vice remarked. "And bred to be. All is well then. Let us wipe this slate and--" A white blast suddenly sent him flying backwards before he landed on his stomach as the portal closed. He growled in response. It was them. 

Iggy gasped for air as life filled him again. Seeing the portal now closed, he knew the call had worked. The others struggled to get up after the onslaught and Iggy cast a few healing spells to help them. Lemmy however remained unconscious.

"We have answered a call for assistance." came a voice in their minds. Looking up, they saw the gray forms of the Kappur floating above the floor. They must have appeared just moments earlier. In the distance, several hovering ships could be seen and Iggy blinked to see if he was seeing that right. The room was located in the distant past. They were apparently capable of time travel. A Kappur sent a short white beam of energy into Lemmy who then promptly stirred to life.

"A foolish maneuver to spy upon them without taking the proper precautions." said the Kappur telepathically. "As it is said in your culture, you went in over your head."

"Alright fine!" Iggy snarled. "My fault."

"Instead, the idea of using telepathy solely then relaying what was seen to the others would have been a better method." the Kappur continued. "But you risked those around you with your actions which has led to an unfavorable outcome. You must think of the consequences of your actions! The event was not totally in vain however, as it has been discovered that the Vice lives on and now controls the UmNaru. However, your greater concerns should be for your population, not for politics. How do you plan on feeding the survivors, Iggy? What will you do when more migrate to your doorstep, demanding food and rest? This is already occurring at other shelters. You yourself have noted the diminished role of the Kings. Power and wealth does not make others any less equal than yourself."

"That was a bad idea." Iggy muttered as the others looked on at him. He looked down and sighed.

"We recommend watching him." The Kappur said to Larry telepathically. "With the number now perishing, his insanity will only increase. If he loses control, we recommend replacing him."

Larry inhaled. "Gotcha."

"Now then." The Kappur said to everyone. "We will let Larry speak as we consider him the leader of the group. You may now ask us questions if you wish."

"Well..." Larry began, a sense of sadness suddenly coming over him. "We're all having a hard time, so I hope you don't expect us to be perfect."

"We do not." they responded. "You are 3rd density souls in the equivalent of kindergarten, still young and growing. We expect mistakes." 

"I could say that I could do a better job." said Larry. "Then again that applies to the rest of us, so you're probably right. On the one hand we have our own shelters and our own problems, on the other hand we have our responsibilities given to us...so a sense of balance is needed. But when looking at all those dying right now, you can't help but wonder what you can do to help them. I almost wish the old system was in place, but then I remember who ran that show and what they did." He fell silent.

"Koopa's have grown up to be spoiled brats, relying upon the kingdom for their needs." said the Kappur. "Self reliance was not a necessity to be taught, instead co-dependency took its place. And when removed from the mother, the children know not what to do. It is a situation not of your making, but the making of those who seek to control the world. Those now struggling to survive must learn to be self-sufficient on their own while cooperating with their fellow Koopa. As we stated earlier, a 90% die off rate is expected and is one reason why the transformation was scheduled for this time. Despite this, love for others has increased as it ought as little else matters. Those with great love in their hearts or those who love more readily will have an easier time adjusting to the new environment. Do not be dismayed and remember what is really important."

"Thanks for the reassurance." said Larry. "It's just hard to find any real leaders to help guide these people. Most seem to be either completely insane or completely stunned."

"That is the norm." they replied. "Most are unprepared for this event. We predicted that around 43% of the world's population would go insane. This has come to pass, with the majority of the rest either in a state of denial or too stunned to take action. The few able to take action will pick up the pieces and start anew, as Lemmy's Castle may attest. The focus is no longer upon a job outside of the home, but rather the home itself. Thus, men who have been taught to work away from home suddenly find themselves without purpose and many struggle what to do. The focus has shifted. As the woman is traditionally the leader of the home, they are expected to become the new leaders and have done so worldwide, along with children born during this generation. Mona's increasing importance at Genlic is a case in point. Observe how children direct their stunned adults." 

They showed a vision of Lemmy's Castle where Elizabeth Koopa, though only a new arrival had already started to guide the adults inside of a weaving room. Vincent Koopa, after being healed and working with the magic users of the castle, was now chiseling the remaining ice and asking those lingering about to support him. Samantha, though disabled by her broken leg was busy writing music for the castle's band that preformed at certain parts of the day, and the makeshift hospital she lay in was often visited by musicians who looked for her advice. And it was there that Trent was often seen helping the critically injured as soon as they came in, despite his own fragile health. His silent leadership helped keeping things moving in an often tramatic area.

"As you can see, much of your children have already taken it upon themselves." the Kappur said. "Their curiosity drives them forward, not to mention the spirits incarnate in many of them, being service to others in the main. Thus they will serve as examples of the behavior required for 4th density service to others orientation, as well as helping to usher in the conditions for said orientation. It is to them and to women that leadership can be found."

Larry nodded. He had been looking in the wrong places. "Then it seems we need both a protector and a home keeper. And I think Kylie's denial isn't working very towards that. I want to replace her, but I don't know of any candidates who could."

"We understand your frustrations." said the Kappur. "We would recommend Elizabeth to the position based upon her soul experience, but due to the expectations of a leader to be more adult in Koopa society, this is unlikely. We thus recommend Elizabeth to work with Kylie to help transition the latter's mindset to the new lifestyle. It is one thing to say something, it is another to take action on it."

"I agree." Iggy nodded, but he said nothing else.

"Maybe we should get all the kids together and go over a few things." Mona suggested. "I don't think they're old enough to use the wands yet, but if they're going to be leaders then we need to tell them a few things."

"Good idea." Larry smiled. "Where we should do this is another thing. Vincent's a problem because he's UmNaru and I don't allow any inside of Genlic, and I don't think Iggy allows them inside Erzembar either. So it--"

"I don't, no." Iggy interrupted. "So you could say the only place would be Lemmy's Castle. But I have an idea if you're willing to hear it."

"Alright." Larry muttered. "We'll hear it."

"I think the kids should get accustomed to using magic to defend themselves." Iggy explained. "Even if its rudimentary. Since their adversary works in black magic, they should use white magic for the job. We can't always be there for them, I know I can't with the millions of voices I hear everyday...not to mention the ones dying right now. This is especially true if they're going to be leaders now. So because of that, I would propose meeting at Erzembar so I could show them a few tricks for self defense in case the UmNaru tries to harass them, which already happened to a few of Ludwig's kids."

"What about Vincent?" Larry asked.

"This is where things get interesting." Iggy grinned. "Before the shift happened, I was in the Erzembar library reading a book when I came across a reference to the Amura. I had never heard of them before and as usual Erzembar was loathe to talk about things he didn't want to share. But it's been in the back of my mind for a while just lingering there, since what I know of them is little so maybe the Kappur can help. What I do know is that they were the antithesis of the UmNaru during the ancient days."

"Back during the first days of the three wands, specifically in the time of the Spirit King Gawanesh Koopa, there existed a group called the Amura." the Kappur explained. "They were created specifically to counter the UmNaru of the time who believed in world domination with the black arts. As the UmNaru were to black magic, so the Amura were to white magic. They were successful in repulsing the UmNaru, so much so that the UmNaru nearly went extinct in the process. But a clever strategy was thought of and the enemy won the war, exterminating the group several years later. All records of the Amura were wiped out and destroyed, including any artifacts, structures and remains. The name became nothing more than a whisper on the wind during the following ages, when others wondered if there was any counterbalance for the UmNaru who reigned in their lands.

"As the UmNaru have their own mark, so do the Amura who keep it on their right hand, the hand of giving. What Iggy is suggesting is that Vincent take the mark of Amura which would neutralize the mark of the UmNaru upon his left hand. Whether this is decided upon or not is in the hands of Koopa, but we wish to elaborate. The mark of Amura has not been seen for two millenia, not since their demise save for a handful of stragglers through the ages who happened to stumble across a rare artifact dating back to that time. Even then, taking the mark makes one shine like a flashlight to the UmNaru, who would not hesitate to kill those who bear it, and have done so in the past. While the UmNaru have generally agreed to keep Vincent alive, taking such a mark would throw this decision into jeopardy. We suggest that one choose wisely. Bearing both marks not only influence each other, but they also influence the user as it is known that bearing both marks often causes insanity. Great discipline will be required if this route is taken."

There was silence for a moment. "I think we should give him the choice." said Larry. "And just see what happens after that, since we don't know how the white spectrum will fully affect him."

"He had a verbal reaction to the scrolls he picked up recently." Iggy pointed out. "Although he does have a desire to learn white magic which is why I think it will work...but you're right, it's his choice." Iggy thought to himself for a moment. "I do have a question. What is going on with the hybrids? We were told that they were going to be our replacements, and that they're living on the surface now. But if we do see them, when will we? I think I can see thoughts sometimes that can't be from our race, but they're hard to make out."

"Your current telepathic abilities stem from your use of the Spirit Wand." the Kappur explained. "Telepathy is not a native ability for most of the Koopa race. Hence the thoughts you see are of your own race as the bounds of the Spirit Wand allow. Since you and your peers lack native telepathic ability, something which the hybrids possess, you have been unable to see nearly all of their thoughts. This does not mean they do not dwell upon the planet however. They have been living aside you for some time."

"So why can you talk to us like this?" Roy interrupted.

"We are able to read the thoughts of every entity on your planet." the Kappur said. "Though you are unable to transmit conscious thoughts, we are able to read them and respond using implants that each of your souls accepted to implement within your vessels upon contact with ourselves, the Kappur."

"What? Where?" Roy flustered.

"So that's what they're for." Iggy commented.

"That is but one purpose they serve." said the Kappur. "They are located in inconspicuous places not normally looked for on the body. Answering your original question, we explained that your planet is transforming into a 4th density service to others planet. The hybrids are currently living on the surface of your planet not visible to your eyes or magic. They will appear to those who incline towards the service to others orientation. This is a gradual process which depends upon the communities involbved. Some may make contact early while others, especially the service to self may never contact them. What we wish to prevent is mass panic, which would instigate calls to the service to self from intense self focus. Therefore, we can say that when you are ready, you will see them."

There was silence. "Well, I haven't seen any yet." said Lemmy, who had been quiet since being attacked. "What do they look like?"

"They are not much different from you. Perhaps with bigger eyes and somewhat larger heads. Unfortunately, we were not able to sequence your hairs into the final product so each is hairless. Shell colors are more varied as the 4th density brings with it colors that do not exist in the 3rd density. We cannot describe said colors as there is no reference point: they just are. And yes, the sex drive is fully included. The result is a compromise between the chemistry of both our races."

"Cool." Lemmy muttered. "Maybe they'll have breen."

"There's another question I have..." Iggy started. "And that is about Koopa. What is he looking to achieve? And if we did have to someday defeat him, which my gut says we probably will have to, then how can this be done with the catch 22 we're caught up in with the three wands? We cannot see him unless the wands are broken somehow as they seem to protect him from detection."

"There is a solution." The Kappur hinted. "But as you are aware, Koopa is listening to our words through the wands he crafted, and we will not empower the enemy. We will say that you will be guided to the solution. Do not worry."

Iggy said nothing. 

"We shall now take our leave. We wish you well in the days ahead." The Kappur said waving, and one by one they disappeared and their ships blinked out of existence, leaving the monarchs to their own thoughts.


	51. The Illusion of Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A daughter finds secrets behind closed doors.  
> Reality claims the minds of the downfallen.  
> The planned exodus is begun, before all answer an ancient call.

"Food will be ready in 10 minutes!"

Kylie looked up from her sewing and scanned the other women in the room, eventually finding her daughter Elizabeth talking with others as they did their work. "Alright, gimme a sec." Kylie shouted back as she got up and put her half finished blanket on her seat. "Hey Elizabeth, can you get the others into the dining room? I gotta go to the kitchen."

"Okay." Elizabeth replied, putting down her half knitted sock. "But we need to finish this when were done cause it'll be cold tonight."

"Yeah, I'll stress the case to the table when we're stuffed." said Kylie. "Now let the rest of the family know and I'll get the food ready." Elizabeth ran across the room and through the doorway, seeking out her siblings. A similar routine had been set up, with each of the Koopalings taking turns informing the others and it was Elizabeth's turn today. At least everyone seemed to be doing what they were supposed to be doing today. Sam was the easiest, as she was always propped up in her room surrounded by music sheets. And as expected, Trent was found in the medical ward hauling off a pile of bloody bandages and she nearly ran into him on her way in.

"Oops...sorry! Dinner is ready." she called out and Trent merely nodded. Running up a flight of steps, she sought out Lemmy's quarters and found the tiny Koopa in his room reading a large scroll. "Dinner's ready uncle Lemmy!" she called out before moving on.

"Huh? Oh, okay." he muttered before returning to where he left off.

Running down to the basement, Elizabeth scanned the line of foremen hacking at the ice and saw Roy near the front towards the former entrance. "Uncle Roy! It's time for dinner!" she shouted. 

Roy huffed. Well that was cute. "Alright." he merely said before putting his chisel away. Satisfied, she ran back the other way and sought the last person to call, which made her wonder about her other siblings again and her father, Ludwig. They haven't been seen for several days now and not much has come from the valley. There were rumors that Ludwig had broken free from capture, but where he went after that was unknown. She hoped that he would arrive soon and that nothing happened to her other siblings, Xavier and Shirley.

Reaching one of the higher levels, Elizabeth reached the door to Vincent's room and opened it. Inside, it was dark save for the glowing scroll that lay on the floor in front of the bald Koopaling who sat cross legged on the floor. He seemed to be muttering to himself as he clenched his left hand. Short wisps of smoke rose from the scroll by an unknown source.

"Hey Vincent, dinner's ready...are you all right?" Elizabeth asked, and immediately Vincent wrapped his hand around a bloodied linen cloth. 

"I'll be fine." he replied, though somewhat annoyed. "Can you please knock before entering?"

"Why, so you can hide your bloody hand faster?" Elizabeth remarked. "Why don't you go down to the ward and have them fix it?"

"Because no one can see it." Vincent said. 

"Why not?" She paused for a moment. "Are you one of those cutters?"

"No, I don't cut myself." Vincent said, but his fears still came true. To him, it was only a matter of time before he was questioned on why he constantly wore his gloves even while indoors and knew that his father's advice would not work forever. If his mark was exposed to the wrong people, then he would be isolated from everyone else or worse, thrown out of the castle and that would be bad news. "I'll tell you after supper, when I'm not surrounded by everyone." he said finally. 

"You better, that looks really bad." she remarked, noting the drops of blood on the floor. "Just don't get blood all over the table."

Vincent chanted something under his breath, and the cloth softly glowed on its own before putting on his glove. "That's not a problem. I can stop the bleeding for a little while." After rolling up his magic scroll, he got up and faced her. "Any more questions?"

"...no." she eventually muttered. Vincent walked past her and down the hallway, and Elizabeth eventually followed, wondering if his little hand problem was the reason he was so antisocial. Though with his use of magic, she now figured there was more to this than met the eye.

"I have another one." Elizabeth called out. "What time after supper?"

"Before we go to sleep." said Vincent. "I'll skip the last meditation, so you can bring the tea to me and I'll show you then." Considering how bad it was getting lately, he was going to have to skip it anyways to try and figure out how to stop the bleeding. The UmNaru must be looking hard for him now.

"Clever guy you are." Elizabeth muttered under her breath, albeit sarcastically. The two headed down into the dining room and waited to be served their meals along with the rest of their kin.

* * *

He struggled with the pain as drops of blood fell onto the white magic scrolls before evaporating into wisps of smoke. He didn't remember it being this bad. Was living with the common folk that much of a bad thing? It was what he'd rather want than live with an elitist, snobby group who looked down upon all who didn't have their "blood" and tortured those lesser than them. With the mark, he was technically considered to be of a higher rank than anyone in the castle, including the monarchs themselves, but who was really the judge of that? 

There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" he called out.

"It's me." It sounded like Elizabeth. Considering that they were probably looking for him, he had decided there needed to be one other person who knew the truth in case something happened to him. "Okay, come in." he replied.

The door opened and Elizabeth appeared with a cup of steeped blackberry tea. "I'll just put this over here." she said before placing the cup on a bureau. She then noticed his bloody hand again. "How long has that been bleeding?" she asked.

"Since..." he trailed off, too many painful memories returning to him then. "You want to see it?"

"...yeah." Thinking wisely on the matter, Vincent used one of the new spells he learned and cast a minor white magic shield around Elizabeth, who swiftly glowed in white light. "Hey, what's this--?" But she was cut off as Vincent showed her the palm of his hand: a bloody sigil, seemingly carved into his palm with an intricate design that had no reference. Vincent closed it after a moment, and the shield around her died mere seconds later. "That was so they couldn't see you." he explained. "I'm pretty sure they're using the mark to spy on me, so I have to be careful who I talk to."

The whole sight sent goosebumps down Elizabeth's neck; it looked like a mark of evil from the old children's tales that the mages often talked about. "Is that thing evil?" she asked.

"Yeah, basically." Vincent replied. "It was given to me when I was born. It wasn't my choice." There was a pause. "I have to get rid of it. It is the mark of the UmNaru...those who rule, or want to rule the world. They use black magic to get their way, and they think they're above everyone else, all the "common folk" as they say a lot. I guess that puts me above everyone else, but that's what they say. I don't think so. There's no way evil is better than the light. If there's a spell that can get rid of this mark, then I need to find it and use it. Otherwise I can't help as much as I want to..."

Elizabeth frowned. Clearly she was not being told the whole story by the adults, which considering her age wasn't too surprising. Still, keeping something like this in the dark told her that her family was indeed hiding much of their backstory from her. It wasn't just her father that had this issue.

"You're right." she absolved. "I won't tell anyone."

"Really?" Vincent looked rather surprised.

"They're not ready yet...and you would be worse if they found out." Elizabeth explained.

"What, of us knowing how the world works?" Vincent asked. 

Elizabeth nodded. "I ask them a lot of questions, but they rarely say anything. Maybe they think we're too young, but it's so frustrating because I try to help and if I can't understand what their past was like, there's only so much you can do. Especially in the recovery center."

"Maybe they want us to grow up better than they did." Vincent suggested. "The end of the world didn't really help that, but still." He got up and picked up his tea off the bureau before taking a sip.

"Yeah, maybe." said Elizabeth. "It's just annoying when they don't talk, or don't move or don't do anything. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we did everything. Did you see all those grown ups outside not doing anything? What if we bossed them around?"

"We already do, well, more you guys than me." said Vincent.

"Why don't the grownups just get up and do what they're supposed to do?" Elizabeth asked.

"Because their world fell apart." Vincent replied. "And they don't know what to do with themselves."

"So? They prepared for this, right? So what's holding them up?" Elizabeth complained. "It's like I'm babysitting my mom sometimes. Some days she's so messed up."

"I think it's an age thing." Vincent pointed out. "We're still young. We're still learning, and they already went through that. So when they have that undone, what can they do? I have a feeling the adult mind is not as flexible as ours. There's a saying about you can't teach an old Goomba new tricks or something like that."

"Oh, yeah that's probably it." Elizabeth muttered. "Well, I hope your hand gets better. I guess the only way would be to find better spells right?"

"Yeah, I'm working on that." Vincent replied. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and a tall Koopa appeared in between them. "Hi guys. I'm uncle Iggy."

"A pervert uncle!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Stop eavesdropping on us!"

"I'm always eavesdropping on everyone!" Iggy chuckled. "It comes with the job, but anyway. I overheard some of this and I have a potential solution for you, Vincent."

"If it stops the bleeding." Vincent remarked.

"It will stop it, although it comes with a few burdens." Iggy alluded. "But first I will say this. We will be having a meet up at Erzembar tomorrow and the topic is about you guys. Unfortunately, I do not allow any UmNaru inside of my complex so normally I wouldn't let you in. However, if you take the mark I'll offer you then I could let you in by proxy due to its abilities."

"There's another mark?" Vincent asked. 

"Yes, for the light side." Iggy replied. "It's called the mark of Amura. Even though it hasn't been seen for millenia, I think it's time to bring it back considering how vulnerable people are to the UmNaru's whims, not to mention the increasing frequency of the planet. The mark is taken on the right hand, because the light represents giving and the darkness represents taking. If you take the mark, it should balance out the mark of UmNaru where it not only stops the bleeding but the affects of both marks would negate each other so you can return to a neutral state. But at the same time, the Amura is going to be a group like the UmNaru, except the exact opposite so if you wish to really get your revenge, there's one way to do it."

"So we're all meeting tomorrow?" Elizabeth echoed.

"Yes, your father is fine and should be here by the morning." said Iggy. "He doesn't know how close he is, but Roy went out to get him. They didn't have a good time...I think it's--"

"Course he never tells me what he's doing." Vincent muttered to himself.

"What happened to them?!" Elizabeth blurted out at the same time. 

"I think it's best if I let them speak for themselves, but they got captured and abused...I'll just say that for now." Iggy finished, not wanting to traumatize them by force.

"Why are people so horrible?" Elizabeth said. "Really...My dad might have done some bad things, but my siblings had nothing to do with any of that, so why do that? We're just people!"

"There's a lot of hatred for the royal family." Iggy explained. "And I know you want to know why, so I'll tell at least part of the story tomorrow if Ludwig doesn't do so. But it's long and there's a lot we have to do."

"More reason to protect myself." Vincent commented, then inhaled. "Trying to get rid of the mark is better than settling for less, so I'll do it. When do we do this?"

"Tomorrow morning." said Iggy. "After everyone else is brought together, I will warp you to Erzembar and isolate you from any threads the UmNaru have on the mark, then apply the mark of Amura on your other hand. Sorry for bursting in like this, but it was the perfect time. I'll let you guys go to sleep now." With that, he disappeared in a flash of light leaving the children with their own thoughts.

* * *

"I'm hungry." Shirley finally said after being quiet for so long.

Ludwig looked back at her but turned around as his own stomach growled with the noticeable lack of options. Carving through the forests that surrounded the valley, they had managed to avoid the most settled areas where anarchy reigned and the law went up in flames. However, that meant foregoing any potential for food and his decision was beginning to wear down on them. 

"How far is Lemmy's Castle?" Xavier asked.

"It is still a considerable distance." Ludwig admitted, climbing the banks that surrounded the valley. "My hopes are to arrive at the former colony began during my ill-fated tenure as Koopa King, and perhaps find some sustenance at the abandoned settlements there. Judging by our current location, this should occur within a few hours, 5 hours at maximum.”

“I don't know if I can wait that long...” Xavier murmured to himself, looking about him. Their stomachs played symphonies of their own, an irony not unnoticed by the maestro whose cruel awakening at the hands of karma left his otherwise productive mind adrift upon a sea of contemplation. The reality was finally beginning to sink in: there was not going to be any return to the former lifestyle that he once enjoyed. Why would anyone in their right mind follow the law and help rebuild industry that was lost when the law cannot be properly enforced with the lack of an overhead? That alone spelled disaster for his previous expectations. The can of worms stuffed within the angered hearts of the repressed slave worker class had been opened and could not be closed now. It was impossible to return to yesterday, so the solution is not in the pattern that now lay broken. In the absence of civilization, was there a line that separated the civilized from the barbaric, or was that merely a make believe wish?

His stomach growled again, reminding him of more immediate needs. Despite grandiose plans that constantly called his attention, primal needs tugged him back down to reality. He was starving and so were his children. What use were these thoughts if they were not going to feed his family? Ludwig nodded to himself. Different times called for different perspectives. He needed to make more use of his immediate surroundings than rely on the whims of a thought process that may or may not materialize.  
A chill ran down his spine as he realized that this must have been the reason why he was ousted as King in the first place. He still had the perspective of civilization returning to normal when his castle was hoisted aloft, and as such lived in a dream world of his own making, of being the ruler of the flourishing New Kingdom in the aftertime. Simultaneously, he let his dream overwhelm his logical sense that may have saved his title had he been more keen to what was right in front of him. His dream had blinded him and he willingly accepted it. Why? For fearing the end, the end of the reality as he knew it.

Sensing his father lost in thought, Xavier looked about him and wondered what could actually be edible. He noticed a horde of what appeared to be baby wigglers not far from them, moving up the ravine parallel to their current path. He tugged at Shirley and pointed at the sight. She immediately guessed what her brother was thinking. “You serious?” she whispered.

Xavier nodded and, breaking away crept toward the wigglers. By the time Ludwig noticed, Xavier had managed to grab one twice as large as his fist. “Do you know if we can eat them?” Xavier asked. 

“Of course, they...were a delicacy within the dining establishments of the old world.” Ludwig said. “Though certain varieties exist which are known to be poisonous, this particular specimen is wholly benign as long as death is swift to the creature as they are famously known for their aggressive tendencies when improperly handled.”

At that, Xavier smashed the wigglers head on a rock and it died nearly instantly. “Cause I'm going to eat it.” he said before taking a bite out of it.

“Eww!” Shirley exclaimed. “I am not eating that.”

“Unfortunately, there is little choice at the moment.” Ludwig pointed out. “There is the study of herbology which I am not particularly engrossed in, otherwise the consumption of insects seems to be the best option at present. Wigglers are rather appetizing when cooked, though left in their natural state leaves much to be desired.”

Xavier grabbed a few more wigglers and killed a few more before the wigglers noticed and scurried off in the other direction. “These can work for now.” he said. Shirley wasn't sure if she was hungry anymore. “I guess the other thing is water.”

“Yes, that is the real cause of concern.” said Ludwig. “And is the reason why we must continue as water is not in plentiful supply at the moment. The longer we wait, the lesser our chances of survival.” 

Xavier offered a wiggler to Shirley, who merely shook her head; she was not ready to stomach the thought of eating bugs just yet. Putting them away, Xavier continued to eat his wiggler as he followed his father up the ravine, with Shirley following after a moment's hesitation. 

Time passed as neither spoke to one another for a few hours. Reaching the top of the ravine, they plunged further into the chaos wrought by the pole shift with booms and rumbles all around them. The grey sky above let loose and they found themselves trudging through a downpour with nothing to protect themselves against. Most of the trees were uprooted or fallen and it became a cumbersome task to walk over the drenched trunks, slowing their progress. However, in time they arrived at their destination as Ludwig recognized a few of the now crumbled structures that lay in a broken heap. But every building that had been constructed was destroyed and not a single one remained standing. It further confirmed Ludwig's suspicions of his new found perspective. The old world was gone forever and more than his family were to play a part in building the new one, whatever it may look like. Still, due to his immense efforts on his castle and even the Galaxy in the past, letting go was something of a challenge.

“So I guess this is it, right?” Xavier asked. “There's nothing here. There was a whole kingdom here?”

“At one point, yes.” Ludwig simply replied, but did not elaborate. The Earth rumbled under them again, reminding them that the Earth was still upset from its adjustment. Ludwig sighed at the futility of it all. Was there any other way to bring these people back together again? If there was, it certainly wasn't by the rule of the monarch. 

Distant voices were heard approaching. “Let us hide over here.” Ludwig said, walking towards a pile of broken trees that lay behind an imploded building. Xavier decided not to say anything and followed him with Shirley trailing him. A few moments later and a pair of Koopa's came running into the camp before stopping to catch their breath.

“Okay, we're here.” said one, panting. “Wait...damnit! This place is gone too!”

“Well they wont like that!” said the other.

“Well? Is it still livable?” came a shout from far away.

“Um...no!” the first shouted back.

“Fuck!” The sound of many feet were heard coming towards them. In the pouring rain, the first person that could be made out surprised Ludwig: it was none other than his brother Morton Koopa Jr. who looked worse for wear and appeared unhappy. Behind him trailed a large number of people, including some injured and others hauling them in wagons. 

“Told you nothing would survive.” the second said. “Every building we've seen is gone.”

“Who's this guy?” Xavier whispered.

“One of your uncles, Morton.” Ludwig whispered back. “Considering the circumstances, it is best to treat him as an enemy.” This was undeniably karma.

“Fuck.” Morton muttered again, not at all happy with his current bout. “Bambesh is eating their own shit, Koopahari kicked us out with that...skin thing and now Koopai is trashed. So much for surviving. I guess we're going to be weekend campers indefinitely unless we can find some shit to build with.”

“What the hell was up with that?” asked the second. “I got blisters all over when we got down there. Is he trying to keep visitors out?”

“I wouldn't doubt it.” Morton muttered. “We did give Luddy the finger before setting off and I never budded with Roy that much, so maybe he's got something against me. I don't know. All I know is that we are a little fucked and we need to find a spot to settle soon. Lemmy's overcrowded already so that won't work.” A rumble shook the area again, reminding Morton of their haste. “And this place is rocking now too.”

“There's a pretty big crack just to the east.” someone said behind him. “Could be a fault or something.”

“There he is!” came a shout from the west. Ludwig turned and saw a band of people struggling up the ravine a few dozen feet from where he had emerged. “We have been followed.” he muttered to himself.

“Who?” came another.

“No! That's Morton!” came another voice. Soon a commotion broke out on both sides as as each shouted at each other. 

“Alright alright, quiet!” Morton demanded. 

“Where did Ludwig go?” came a cry. “He went this way.”

“Please stay close to my person.” Ludwig said to his children as he stepped away from the broken trees. “I am present. What do you need?”

“What?!” This was not what Morton had expected. Wasn't he supposed to be in his floating castle? A few people made nasty comments from Morton's party drawing from the times of his eventual dethronement. 

“Considering my person and my children were captured and tortured under a gang of thugs, I shall not be settling in the Bambesh Valley, for those who have not guessed my intentions as of yet.” explained Ludwig. 

“That's Morton's turf. He's supposed to do that!” came a cry.

“No way am I going back into that hellhole!” Morton cried. “It's filled with animals now.” This erupted into a huge argument within his own party and Ludwig shook his head at his brother's failure of simplistic tact. Many who had trailed Ludwig at a distance now begged him to do something about it, despite no longer being a leader of his people. Eventually, a voice grew louder than the rest and stepped forward from those following Ludwig.

“It's him! Morton!” she cried. “Jen would be pissed if she saw you now!”

“Jen?” It took a moment for Morton to register her name, but his memories of her soon followed. “Oh shit.”

“One of your mistresses?” Ludwig asked out of slight amusement.

“You never came by to pick us up and just ran off to your little mountain.” the woman complained. “You always think for yourself too much Morton. She had a surprise to give you, but now I have to do it for her.”

“You know I don't like surprises, unless it's something good.” Morton said. The women parted and an old koop was seen pushing a wooden wagon towards them. Unfurling a blanket, Morton was shocked to find a number of eggs laying within, some of them cracked and broken with lifeless limbs hanging out. The scene fell quiet around them at the sight.

“What...” Morton was too flabbergasted to talk further. Ludwig looked on with pity, while reminiscing how lucky he had been before his own mind got the better of him. 

“And you weren't there when she needed you the most!” the woman continued.

“I told her I didn't want any kids.” Morton said under his breath.

“Well you must--” Another shake rattled them, bringing them back to reality. Ludwig grew uneasy and remembered that the Koopai valley lay on a fault line not far from their location, probably near the crack seen by others earlier. It was best that they kept moving.

“This is a geologically active area.” Ludwig warned. “I suggest taking this with us as we head across the valley towards a new settlement, preferably my brother Lemmy's.”

“That's what we should have done.” said a voice within Morton's party and many others echoed similar phrases. But Morton seemed lost in thought at the sudden appearance of dead children he did not ask for. 

“Come on, let's get moving.” came a cry and people started to take the initiative on their own and started heading across the valley, passing the Koopalings in the process. Ludwig was about to speak to the old koop when a jolt shook them and suddenly the ground began to shift. Behind them, overlooking the valley the crack swayed back and forth in an apparent earthquake. The soil above gave way and it became clear that a mudslide had begun. Ludwig pushed his kids up the remaining ravine and hence to safety as the ground eroded all around them. Many people were caught in the landslide and were swept from their feet as their cries filled the air. The old koop backed up the wooden cart just in the nick of time as the soil eroded and washed out from underneath. But Morton was caught unawares, and sensing the soil moving under him, he snapped out of his daze and made an apparent attempt to flee, but his weight exacerbated the situation as the soil quickly crumbled beneath him and he found himself caught in a landslide of dirt and debris. 

“Morton!” Ludwig called out, and brandishing his personal wand cast a spell which grabbed hold of the Koopaling and attempted to pull him from the rubble. But despite being far from the slide, the ground cracked under Ludwig and he lost his footing and fell over backwards into a shallow hole. The spell dissipated and his children attempted to pull him out of the growing hole, thinking the whole landmass would also slide down into the crack below. But soon the rumbling quieted until it finally ceased, leaving behind a cliff not formally present along with the makings of a canyon. Immediately after, cries went up around the valley echoing desperation, sadness and insanity. Ludwig finally loosened his shell from the surrounding dirt, and climbed out of the small pit to witness the devastation. People were weeping at the catastrophe and some looked over the newly created bank at the forming canyon below.

Ludwig sighed and closed his eyes. No matter what, he needed to keep his sanity. “Please check on the status of your uncles children.” he said, turning towards his own. But they stared forward, seemingly stunned. “Do you understand?” he asked, shaking their shoulders. “Xavier, go and look after the cart and report any survivors.” He gently pushed his sons shoulder and Xavier walked off to the cart, still not all present. Shirley followed with an absentminded look. 

Ludwig looked back at the cliff. To him, Morton didn't appear to make an effort to save himself, aside from trying to run forward. He could have jumped to safety or used any number of Earth spectrum spells, something he was skilled with. Instead, Morton had ran forward almost casually which served to fuel the landslide further by breaching the soil underneath him. Given Morton's failure as a leader and the death of his children and their mother...

“Psuedo-suicide.” Ludwig muttered, now almost certain of it. He sighed heavily, sick of watching his loved ones succumb to death but his previous experiences with the shift did not allow him to reflect much further. He wished to return to normalcy and happiness as soon as possible, but that would not come quickly. It was all about maintaining sanity now. Getting their way to Lemmy's was also not only going to take sanity, but robustness and integrity as well. 

“Hey dad! Some of them are moving!” Shirley suddenly called out. Ludwig snapped out of his reminiscence of Morton and headed to the wooden cart where he found the old koop looking at him. “I'm her father.” he said, referring to Jen. “And I do ask you take care of them better than he did. I know his loss must pain you, but you must also know how negligent he was to us.”

“It does not surprise me.” said Ludwig, knowing him well. “I shall adopt the survivors and give the deceased a proper burial before we depart. For my part, I must apologize for my brother's atrocious behavior.”

“None needed, it's all choice.” the old koopa said, waving it off. Ludwig noted that Shirley seemed more alive when she handled the young and hoped it would help her with her traumatic experience. Indeed, at least two of the eggs appeared to be moving, seemingly stirred by the recent earthquake. He noticed a small pocketbook on the edge of the wooden cart, and picking it up Ludwig found inside a list of handwritten names on multiple pages, with some crossed out in haste. “It seemed she was already thinking ahead of time.” Ludwig said to himself, recalling the days when Kylie would brainstorm names before the birth of his own children. Putting the pocketbook away, he turned to his children. “Please look after your cousins as we travel to uncle Lemmy's shelter.” he said. “I must now gather whom is left and sort together a plan of action.” Turning back to the canyon, he hummed to himself as he went through the next steps in his mind.

* * *

With a heave, the first houseboat was pushed into the open waters with a cheer amongst a small crowd. Tommy Koopa, using a smartphone recorded the whole event as it transpired. Connected to a portable solar panel, Tommy hoped the device would keep working as long as possible. He had already videoed much of the interior of Genlic and was still amazed at how it looked. He had become a part time videographer of sorts, sending his files to several members of the tech team inside of Genlic. Even though he was expected to leave relatively soon, his developing skills were being called upon by several in the complex who were too busy to do such things.

“Your welcome.” Ashley muttered, noticing his enthusiasm. “They said those things were useless, but I don't think so.”

“No way.” Tommy replied. “They wont believe me unless I got something like this.” He couldn't wait to show his siblings what he had been through.

"My bro would love it if you filmed him on one of the houseboats he helped build." said Ashley. "But he never says anything to other people...quiet guy."

"I've been sending him stuff too." said Tommy. "But yeah, he's quiet."

"Time to go guys." Larry suddenly announced, coming out of nowhere.

"Where are we going?" Ashley asked.

"To your uncle Iggy's." Larry responded. "We've got some some things to talk about."

"Is it a lecture?" Ashley asked.

"An interactive lecture." Larry explained. "You'll be learning about magic."

"Okay I'm in." Ashley immediately responded. Tommy frowned, not sure if he wanted to leave the place so quickly, but told himself it was inevitable.

"Its important since we've been fighting someone for a while now, and we could use your guys help." said Larry. "Yes, even you guys can help."

"Okay. Well, let's go then." Ashley said, with Tommy ceasing his recording. With a wave of his wand, Larry teleported them to a large room with silvery walls and dim lights. Maynard appeared next to them with a confused expression.

"Wha?" Tommy muttered before holographic lines passed through them horizontally and vertically.

"You guys are clear." came a voice.

"So Vincent's last?" Larry asked the voice.

"Yeah, everyone but him...he's going to be the example for both sides." said Iggy, though he was not physically present. "I already briefed him, so it's just the rest of you guys now." Another flash and they were sent into a large circular room filled with colorful ancient hieroglyphics and a strange pattern etched onto the floor. In the center was Iggy Koopa who was seemingly talking to himself. 

"He's your uncle Iggy." said Larry. "And he's not talking to himself. Let's just say he's a very busy Koopa."

"Is he talking to ghosts?" Ashley wondered before more people suddenly showed up. Across from them came Ludwig's kids from Lemmy's Castle in one large group, looking around them. One notable exception was Samantha, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Tommy!" Elizabeth shouted and ran to hug him. “We had no idea what happened to you!”

“I'm happy you're okay.” Tommy responded, already feeling a bit overwhelmed. His other siblings rushed around him and asked a variety of questions. Iggy watched his nieces and nephews congregate as the other playing pieces started to come together in his mind. It seemed that they were in the nick of time considering what the UmNaru were attempting to do. 

“They're going after him, aren't they?” Larry asked, reading his mind.

“Yeah, we need to get this group set up as soon as possible.” Iggy responded. “It looks like Roy finally caught up with Ludwig just north of the Koopai...Canyon if you want to call it that.” Elizabeth suddenly started crying into Tommy's shoulder; he had broken the news about Amy to the rest of them. Larry sighed and went to comfort them as best he could. More flashes in the room revealed just that: Ludwig and his two remaining children with the kart full of eggs, now with just a small handful remaining with the deceased having been buried earlier. One had seemingly hatched unnoticed upon the trip: a small dark skinned Koopa with a few strands of hair and a grey shell looked about in confusion. Xavier and Shirley had gone to talk with their cousins. Roy looked somewhat bewildered at the sudden change of his surroundings. The crowd of children migrated back to the other side of the room upon the appearance of their father.

“Is dis for the Amura thing?” Roy asked.

“Yes, we need to set that up now.” said Iggy. “The UmNaru are trying to make a last stand against the transformation and will be attacking settlements soon.”

“Though I am grateful for the rescue, I must ask the intent of being warped to Erzembar at such short notice.” said Ludwig, ignoring his children's questions for a moment.

Iggy however nodded towards the kart and Ludwig looked before nodding to himself. “Yes, that was quite unexpected.” Ludwig replied. “I had adopted Morton's children out of courtesy and thankfully found a small notebook, presumably written by his ex-Mistress in the event of requiring to name such children. She changed her mind often, but I digress...it seems one has hatched during our teleportation.” He flipped through the book for a name that fitted with the newborn. “I shall name him Morton Koopa the Third as he bears uncanny resemblance to his protege despite the lack of weight.”

“What? Morton had kids?” Roy asked. “So you met him?”

“I did so for a brief period.” Ludwig responded. “Too brief as unfortunately we were succumbed to an adjustment of the Earth's crust within the immediate area which resulted in the formation of a large underground cavity and a tremendous landslide that took many with it, including our dear brother. I fear he is buried deep within the Earth.”

Many of them fell silent at that news. Roy had an unreadable expression on his face. Larry kicked the floor as he had seen the whole sequence play out in his mind previously along with his brother Iggy. Xavier was too busy telling his siblings and cousins what had happened to them for most to notice. 

“They are going after him now.” Iggy stated. “The last thing we need is something like a Dry Morton coming after us, which is what they have planned.”

“Well, they did expedite that little Earthquake.” Larry mentioned. “They're probably trying to pick us off one by one.”

“Yeah...” Iggy trailed off for a moment. “That's why we have to get this group set up now, not just to stop their plans but to protect our settlements from their attacks. We need a real police force of magic users.”

“Ah yes, you have not yet answered my original question.” Ludwig said.

“I came across a group that works on the polar opposite end of the UmNaru.” said Iggy. “I hope you kids are listening because this is really for you.”

“We're listening!” Elizabeth shouted who had stopped crying moments earlier.

“Good, because I know you guys want to play more active roles in your communities so this is your chance.” said Iggy. “But first, I'm going to give you a crash course on how the world was run up until this point.” He then explained the UmNaru and their control over their family and hence the Koopa Kingdom for millenia, the three wands and their functions and where things currently stood. “It's a lot to take in, but there isn't a whole lot of time at the moment.” Iggy concluded.

“Sounds like the old world sucked.” Xavier remarked. Larry chuckled, as he was not far from the truth.

“It was a time of ignorance.” Iggy clarified. “So you didn't really know how much it sucked until you woke up to the madness, so to speak. It was a war over knowledge, because knowledge is what helps set you free. But with their control now greatly loosened, knowledge can for the most part be freely given. A few pole shifts ago, there was another group that worked with white magic instead of black magic and they nearly succeeded in wiping out the UmNaru altogether. However, very few artifacts of theirs survive after the UmNaru completely wiped them from existence, but a handful of tomes here at Erzembar do tell their story. This group is known as the Amura.”

“This is interesting as I have never heard of the existence of such a group.” said Ludwig. “I would presume that their chief focus is to encapsulate the globe with their white spectrum of magic in contrast with their counterparts?”

“This is one of their goals.” said Iggy. “And to defend against evil is another, in this case the service to self who make up the large majority of the UmNaru.” Iggy inhaled. “Each UmNaru carries upon them a mark upon their left hand which binds them to their order for life, unless a higher priest deems them unworthy which is typically before death from a severe penalty. The Amura have their own sigil which is taken upon the right hand and works as a pool of white spectrum magic to draw upon, like its counterpart.” Iggy opened his right paw and showed them all the mark of the Amura glowing upon it. “This is the mark that Penny and I have already taken.” He closed it after a few moments. “So a wand would not be required if such a mark is taken, though a wand would greatly magnify the effects of spells beyond what your will power is initially capable of. So that's what's needed: a counterbalance to the negative that seeks to rise again. The first core members, aside from Penny and myself will be those who choose to do so right now. Keep in mind that it's not just about fighting: there is plenty of healing work and strategic planning that needs to be done. This includes you, Ludwig."

"Really." Ludwig muttered, his eyebrows furrowing. "An intriguing proposition..."

"If you want to defeat the UmNaru with matched power, this is your chance." said Iggy, but the hands raised by the children diverted his thoughts. "Ashley, Trent...Maynard."

"Sort of." Maynard said. "I'm not big on this stuff, but it couldn't hurt to learn a few tricks for building stuff."

"We're going to do some magic lessons, so you don't need to join if you don't want to." Iggy clarified. 

"I'd join, but I'm not really feeling it right now." Xavier said. "We...went through a lot."

"We're going to have healing sessions later." said Iggy.

"That's what I will offer." Trent's voice echoed in Iggy's mind.

"Trent is going to be a healer so he'll help too." Iggy said. 

"What about Vincent?" Elizabeth asked. 

"He will be coming in separately," Iggy replied, "since he already decided to become an Amura. I will send him in now and you'll see the process."

"Why separate him from the rest?" Ludwig wondered as Iggy conjured a teleportation spell. In a flash, Vincent appeared next to Iggy and was immediately surrounded by a circle of white light: a white entrapment spell.

"You are now protected from prying eyes." Iggy told Vincent. "Show them."

"You sure?" Vincent asked, remembering his oath. But Roy nodded, and so reluctantly, the child opened his palm and showed them the mark of the UmNaru.

"You have a bit of nerve to allow the enemy inside the supposed gates of paradise, Ignatius." Ludwig muttered, thinking about drawing his wand.

"The children born into the UmNaru are immediately given the sigil regardless of their choice." Iggy explained. "As I said earlier, only their priests can undo this action. However, this power can be counterbalanced."

"He is still UmNaru, and as such an enemy of the immediate family." said Ludwig. "Surely he must be unaware of the torture they placed upon my person and the children with me."

"I don't know what you went through." said Vincent. "Since I have been running from these guys since escaping."

"This mark says otherwise." said Ludwig.

"That wasn't my choice." Vincent muttered. 

"That is rather unfortunate." Ludwig countered. "As a great life may have been lived otherwise."

"So because I got this mark against my will I am doomed to die now?" Vincent argued. "Great uncle you are." Some of the kids ooo'ed at that response. 

"He will receive the mark of Amura to help counter the black magic of the UmNaru." Iggy interjected. "Plus having the mark of UmNaru can give us an insight into their inner workings."

Ludwig frowned, unable to deny that, but still felt unsettled. "The effect the mark implicates upon an individual goes, theoretically, beyond ones free will to being unable to control such energies. As such, it is my opinion that he cannot be trusted, Amura or not. If the slightest infringement is seen then I would suggest containment of said UmNaru up to the point of termination."

"I'll keep it in mind, but for now he will live on as a normal person." said Larry. "What I'm sick of is being born into such things without having the choice to live one's life, and if he behaves then I'll leave his life to him. It would be better to find a way to remove the mark rather than condoning someone for something he didn't do." 

Ludwig looked at Larry with an annoyed expression but otherwise grumbled to himself. 

"Anyway, here's how the initiation works. First, step back behind the circumference of the circle." Each did so albeit Ludwig doing so reluctantly. After this, a pillar of light shot through the youth followed by a loud tone that rattled the walls. The sand upon the floor shifted into a symmetrical pattern and the light ray bent in towards Vincent's right hand. The same pattern was brazened upon his hand without the pain he endured through the initiation back at Johns Castle. In an instant, the light disappeared, the tone went silent and the pattern in the sand shifted back into nothingness. The sigil remained, glowing upon his hand in a golden light. 

At once, Vincent felt a tension build up and he felt his mind seemingly split itself apart in argumentative conflict. He forced his hands together and his mind calmed down somewhat. 

"From that hand comes a pool of white spectrum magic along with a matching aura that surrounds you at all times." said Iggy. "Another thing is that said sigil is like a bright light that the UmNaru can easily see. It's the same reason why those of us in the white magic spectrum can see the UmNaru easily as well. So it's best to stay together as much as possible. Vincent's case is a bit of an exception when it comes to handling the sigil, so don't take his struggling to be the absolute example as it'll be easier for you guys to handle."

"This is crazy." Vincent commented. "Its like having two galaxies inside of you at war with each other, and it doesn't end.” He inhaled. “But it's okay, I'll figure it out." He walked to the outer edge of his own volition as the others watched on.

"I'll see what I can do to help." came a voice in Vincent's head and Trent stepped forward into the circle. 

"It seems Trent has developed an individuality." Ludwig commented. 

"You haven't seen how Lemmy's place works, dad." Elizabeth said. "We all just do our own thing, but we still work together. Trent is in the medical area, I do knitting and doing what mom says is logistics, Sam basically writes music for the band--"

"That is intriguing." Ludwig said. "I would much desire to see her current progress in whichever discipline she has chosen in the art." The same thing that occurred earlier happened again, and the sigil was also implemented upon Trent's right hand. After the show died down, Trent breathed in as a whole new world opened up to him. But his beeping wrist band brought him back down to reality as his heartbeat had gotten faster.

"There is greater tension with this." Trent thought. "A lot of energy going through me. I don't think everyone here can handle this, so I would be careful in choosing who gets to use this."

"What about you?" Iggy thought.

"I'll try..." Trent thought, eying his wristband before heading straight towards Vincent, who was trying to calm the chaos in his head and body. 

"Trent, what are you--" Ludwig started before Trent started a healing spell which calmed Vincent down quickly after. The latter leaned against the wall, relieved that the battle finally went still. "Thank you, I needed that." Vincent said with a sigh. 

"You have a smart kid, Ludwig." Larry said. "I would let him do this thing."

"I kind of want to do it now..." Elizabeth said to herself, now eying Shirley who looked on in silence. But she wasn't sure if would be willing to balance out that responsibility with what she was doing now. She watched Ashley step up on her own and felt resolved that perhaps having a bit of magic by her side might help uplift the doom and gloom that surrounded so many people these days. After hearing about Amy, she didn't want to end up like that: totally unprepared and helpless. Plus there was the thing that happened to Shirley...

The sigil was brazened onto Ashley's hand and she flexed it, marveling at how warm it felt. As Ashley walked back to the outer wall, Elizabeth made up her mind. "I'll do it." she said. "But what about Sam?"

"I asked her mentally and was told she wasn't interested." Iggy replied. "It seems she's occupied by her music writing."

"I won't be doing this." Roy said. "No good at magic." As Elizabeth walked up to be initiated, Roy looked at his new nephew crawling around in the wooden cart along with the unhatched eggs. "What about him?" he asked after the ceremony was finished.

"Oh yeah...I can put him with Junior along with the eggs." Iggy said.

"Junior?" Roy asked.

"Iggy Junior." said Iggy, smiling. "Yeah, it was a boy. He just started to walk so maybe Morton will learn a thing from him." He teleported the cart and Morton into a makeshift playpen where Penny was attempting to teach Iggy Jr. how to talk. 

"It would seem that I am at a crossroads." Ludwig said as Iggy communicated with his beloved. "While the desire for redemption is evident, I'm afraid that my pride prevents me from joining the Amura in full capacity. My past actions continue to haunt my consciousness and I believe that a final decision cannot be reached at this time. In other words, I do not know at the moment whether such a choice would be wise for my person. I shall meditate upon this further until a consensus can be reached on this...problem. In the meantime, I shall let my children set the example...despite personal grievances." He glanced at his son Trent sitting with the UmNaru Vincent.

"I should probably take it, considering what happened earlier..." said Larry. Mona suddenly appeared next to him in a flash. "Yeah, I'm going to take it." she said. "Is this the place?"

"That it is." said Larry. "I just don't want a repeat of what happened at the council, so if we have to defend ourselves from them in the future, then we need to get on their level whether we like it or not."  
Larry and Mona walked into the center of the circle and went through the initiation simultaneously, and each received the mark of the Amura upon their right hands. "Wow, it feels warm." Mona remarked.

"Bet it was last night." Roy mused.

Mona smiled. "Actually it was. But don't give the children any bad ideas."

"Oh...yeah." Roy put on a frown and fell silent.

"I guess that's everybody." said Iggy, looking around the room.

"No, I'll do it." came Tommy's voice. Apparently he wasn't totally paying attention and was talking with his cousins.

"Then I'm pretty sure you're the last one for now." Iggy said before Tommy went through the ceremony. "Okay, we're done with that. The next thing to do is make the wands for the kids, and in order to do that, I need to go over some basic magic skills. After the wands are completed, I'll go over the basic principles of the Amura, how the group worked, some spells I dug up that they used to use and so on. When all of that is over, there's going to be a big dinner in the complex that you're all invited to."

“I'll stick around.” Roy said. “This magic thing is not my beef though. I'll stick around for dinner, and just check out this place or something until then.”

“As you wish.” Iggy said as his brother teleported to the exterior of Erzembar where he became immersed in the new buildings and the population that inhabited the area.

“That I will have to contemplate in regards to my attendance.” Ludwig said, speaking of the dinner. “Though the education of magic will necessitate my participation for the time being. Where shall this teaching be conducted?”

“Here.” Iggy then transported Ludwig and all his children into another circular room with silvery walls filled with half constructed and broken wands. 

“I will be with you guys in a moment.” said Iggy as he teleported Vincent and Larry's children into the same room. “What is it?” Iggy asked Larry.

“I want to open up the Amura to the public.” Larry declared. Iggy raised a brow at that, not sure at how effective that might be. 

“A civilian army, huh?” Mona mused. “You know, that's not a bad idea. It just depends how you handle it.”

“Anybody around the world can join as long as they're magically capable.” said Larry. “I think it's one of the best ways to counter the ongoing UmNaru attacks. I want to see them try and handle that.”

“Very possible they will just slaughter them all instead.” Iggy warned. “Then again, our influence is waning. And our knowledge shouldn't die with us if that ever happens. I think Lemmy's place is a good example of where the world is going.”

“Because of that, I guarantee you that Koopa wants us dead by now.” said Larry. “He'll have a harder time if everyone and their grandma is part of the group.”

“You especially.” Iggy pointed out. “You made a good move by taking the mark. He's right below you and you took his opposite alignment. I would suggest disciplining yourself in the spectrum as much as possible. If Koopa ever breaks out, then there's a good chance you'll be on your own. That being said, the UmNaru will definitely attack soon now. They already know the Amura are back.”

“Well, we should get to teaching the youngsters then.” Larry said.

“I think I'll go talk to the council about this.” said Mona. “And I'll let you know what they think about this whole thing. I think it's awesome, but they'll probably have a ton of questions.”

“We're going into the informational session about the Amura right after the wands are made for the kids.” said Iggy. 

“Right, I'll just tell you what's going on.” Larry said, pointing to his head.

“Well then, life without cell phones isn't so bad after all.” Mona remarked. “We got this whole mind to mind thing.”

“Tell that to Ashley.” Larry remarked. “She'll get it one day I think. But yeah, let's go do this thing.”

“Adios!” Mona disappeared in a flash and the other two Koopalings teleported into the ancient wand room where everyone else awaited their instruction.


	52. No Loyalty Among Thieves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The insecure look to the old for answers and see what they wish to see.  
> The most innocent is given the ultimate choice.  
> The future arrives at Erzembar, "unannounced."

“So then,” the Vice continued in his ramblings to the assembled council in front of him, “It appears that the progeny of our last chosen, that of Bowser have activated genetics that were once considered recessive and not a threat to our establishment. These are the remains of their foundation, their connection to us, the real heirs of the almighty one, the great king. Their appearance is not a sin but merely the unfinished work of our ancestors. Their end goal was met, but not completely. That is how the light operates: through any small error, it erodes our success until all is lost in time. Thus through the rein of Parnesus and his successor Dac'Leon, success turned into pride, and pride turned into arrogance. Absolute purity of their line was not met as many of you had called out before, but pride is another animal that is rarely tamed by those caught in its fangs. 

“We must not let pride lead us astray again. For the first time in millenia, the Amura have returned to the Earth.”

Murmurs broke out amongst the group immediately, but the Vice continued. “Our arch nemesis has been defeated before and their memory buried into the sands of time, and thus they will suffer the same fate once more. Pride will not lead us to victory and this must be left behind us as a broken thing of the previous age. We must become discriminating and wise in our actions for regaining what has been lost to us. To that end, the first solution deals with the legacy of Bowser and the mess it has left us. Dac'Leon's efforts and the current Spirit King's actions prove that mere genetic restructuring will not solve what is broken. The entire line of Bowser must be purged, and a new lineage chosen.”

Cries went up with that. “But who can replace the line of Telxin?” asked one aloud. 

“Did I say the line of Telxin would be purged?” the Vice asked. “No, this is the line of Bowser, merely a small mark in a history that stretches on to infinity. Others in Telxin's carefully crafted lineage yet exist as our historians know, and as our wardens attest to. Who may be the next Earth King remains to be voted upon, but until that time arrives let us focus on what lies in front of us. As any seer can attest, the Spirit King has initiated a number of their offspring into the Amura, thus they are considered the immortal enemies of the UmNaru. Thus, they are the first targets for extermination. We shall begin with the most vulnerable of them all, the one who does not deserve his position.” He snapped his finger and immediately several UmNaru walked out of the council. “At the same time, let us deal with the one who disobeyed us. Capture him and imprison him. His knowledge may serve some use.”

“What of the son?” one of them asked.

“Through his free will, he has taken the other mark and as such broken the contract set long ago.” The Vice responded. “We are no longer obligated to protect his line from destruction, and so destruction shall come to him. Make sure the father is awake to witness his son's death. Such a leak of the pure line must not be allowed to thrive outside our boundaries.”

Others exited the room and Narec folded his arms. Was resurrecting the Vice a mistake? No, for he had no other choice concerning uniting the UmNaru again, otherwise they would have splintered after the shift due to their petty differences and their very natures. But Narec paid a heavy price for it, forcing to demote himself into a lesser role and becoming subject to the master that once held reign over him. Was the sacrifice worth it? The only answer to that was another question: was killing others to meet your own goals really worth it?

To Narec, the orders from the Vice were needless. Killing off what many generations had built for, a lineage wholly under their control was a waste and to many, an insult to their ancestors. The way of the UmNaru had always been manipulation. While it was true that the Spirit King needed to be destroyed, it was shown that the Blood King was wholly susceptible to their manipulations and Narec found him more useful alive. The king did not even try to reign in the UmNaru ranks despite the powers that he possessed, and more or less controlled his sibling's actions while under the black entrapment spell. If he were fully possessed, then he would make an excellent agent much like his father was, but the Vice clearly did not think that way.

Narec himself walked out and into the gallery where many of the pure line were permanently on display throughout the hall. He stopped at a picture of his father, that of Artello Koopa, a younger brother of Dac'Leon. It was luck that kept him alive, being only a hybrid and not a full blood like his father was, but that luck was due to manipulation of others. There was no reason to abandon that now for an ambition that seemed reckless to personal desire. But such agendas were the norm and not unexpected in their society. The question was unity.

Other UmNaru passed him; it seemed the council had adjourned. "Your excellence." said one UmNaru, bowing to him out of respect. "In case you have not overheard, we have discovered the remains of the one they have called 'Morton.' The extraction process has begun, but it appears several vital organs are missing."

"That is irrelevant." said Narec. "The reanimation will continue, not halted by such little things. It is clear as to the Vice's intent regarding his purpose...but I must ask you one question."

"Anything, your excellence."

"Where do your real loyalties lie?" Narec asked.

The UmNaru looked about him before speaking. "My loyalties belong to you alone Narec, but I do not understand how resurrecting the old ways will solve our current problems."

"It is only temporary." said Narec, noticing another shorter, hooded UmNaru approach. "What of the project I set you upon?"

"We scanned the region." the UmNaru replied. "There is only one. The animation process is complete and training has begun."

"Good. For if the leadership I have installed goes astray to our wishes, then that is what we will use." Narec explained. 

"The fragment has been contained, though we cannot manipulate it to our liking." the UmNaru continued.

"That is also irrelevant." said Narec, and he inhaled. "Do not let the others know of this project." The UmNaru bowed and merged with the outgoing crowds.

"He didn't reply with an absolute." said the shorter UmNaru, throwing her hood back. She had her black hair pinned upwards in two buns and sported black lipstick.

"That's accounted for." Narec replied, turning to her. "How many today?"

"About 20." she replied. "They weren't very nice. I had to cut them up, but those guys "up there" didn't let me finish."

"Tee, it is rude to spill others blood in the commonways." Narec said, pointing to her belt, upon which were concealed a number of knives dripping blood onto the floor.

"I'm sorry, father." she replied, kneeling and promptly cleaning up the mess. 

"Get ready for a new host of guests." Narec warned her as she finished cleaning. "They should arrive within the next 2 days. They are a special batch, as you will see in your reports."

"As long as I keep their organs." she replied before walking off with the rest of the group. Little did she know what she was in for.

"You wont." Narec called after her. She stopped for a moment, then continued onward.

* * *

“There is only one! The one creator!” Iggy spat. “These fools do not understand the oneness of all beings, only the singularity of themselves! They only know how to separate, not to unify.” He shook his head as he leaned forward on top an ancient balcony covered in colorful murals from the distant past. Below him, surrounded by palm trees and other shrubs invested since the raising of Erzembar was a large gathering seated amongst the stars enjoying dinner for the evening. 

People were walking about and very few were sitting around and doing nothing, except for a few cooks eating their dinners early. In a clearing, a group played some invented form of football, trying to retain some sense of normalcy. There, Tommy was found playing on one team and had been there since getting out of "magic class," though he didn't seem as interested in magic as his other siblings, preferring physical contact like his uncle Larry. However, he did utilize a few trick shots using magic, barely within the parameters of the rules. A moment later, he kicked the ball which promptly disappeared then reappeared behind the goalie. Shirley was talking to one of the residents of Erzembar a few blocks away; her rape was still on the forefront of her mind and was now seeking help, which was good news. Others were still invested in their training, with Xavier taking an interest in martial arts and Vincent, having just come from that class was now practicing in a white magic class with others, including Ashley who was quickly becoming a prominent magician. Maynard was helping in the fields and bringing in vegetables to the cooks. He seemed the least interested in the magic training. Elizabeth was playing guitar while talking to her sister Sam, who's leg had since mostly healed and now used a temporary walking stick. Sam had apparently written a piece for the band that was to perform later. Trent was with an elite group of Amura made up of many common citizens as Larry had requested earlier. In Trent's case, he was seated cross-legged upon a small hill with a handful of others in similar position, and each had an aura of colors that surrounded them in state; they were practicing on clearing and realigning their chakras for their magic work. Ludwig had gone back to Lemmy's Castle to tell the news about Amy's death to Kylie, who was not taking it well. 

But despite the festivities, the enemy was on Iggy's mind and he already knew of their plans to attack the complex. Their forces had already been sent out and we're going to arrive within a few hours. He hadn't told the others yet, but Larry could see his mind and those of his family and already knew by now, and Penny, being his equal knew immediately as well. 

"I have a plan, but I'll hear what you want to do about it." Larry's voice said in his mind. 

"I was going to tell the Amura about it, but no one else." said Iggy. "Cause if we start preparing for their attack now, they'll know we're on to them."

"The rest of them won't like that." Larry warned. "They will find out and you know it. Being a Spirit King includes being ethical in your decisions. We went over this already with that whole incident earlier...”

“Hey guys.” Penny suddenly told everyone in the Erzembar complex via telepathy. “We have intel about an attack going to happen within a few hours or so, but we didn't want to spoil the party, so...we can still have it and pretend we don't know anything about it, and they won't suspect a thing when they get here. But if we do call it off, they will probably figure out we know of their plans so that will make us lose the element of surprise. It's up to you guys.” It seemed she was finally fed up with their indecision and took matters in her own hands. It also seemed that people were indecisive about the plan at first, until a consensus began to be reached and they formed a plan around the upcoming attack. “See?” Penny thought. “Just tell them. What do you have to hide?”

“You already know that.” Iggy muttered aloud.

“But that's petty.” said Penny. “Everyone has their own opinions, it's inevitable.”

Iggy sighed. Despite being the Spirit King, he had a hard time being transparent about his motivations to others. Perhaps it stemmed from a life of deceit and treachery, partially on his own watch along with actions done against him, and such a life was always constant under the rule of King Bowser. Trust was an expensive commodity, the most expensive in Iggy's case and it seemed he had not yet fully recovered from those days. The deception that he saw from a people turned animalistic in their struggle for survival did not help the situation. It was a different playing field now, but the same problem remained, albeit caused by different factors. The world was still reeling from the devastation, and with such a collapse of culture, the race had been forced to return to the bottom of the social pyramid: survival and basic needs, which the animal would get at whatever the cost, regardless of ethics or morality. 

“We know who they're after.” Iggy thought. “They should be protected first. Roy needs to know about the danger in front of him. It would be very bad if they capture the Earth King.”

“That I agree with.” Larry replied. “I'm going to have a chat with him. He's not ready for what's ahead, and with his pride that's a big problem.”

“Then why did you pick him as Ludwig's replacement if you knew he couldn't hold himself against the UmNaru?” Iggy asked, finally letting curiosity get the better of him. 

“Because I knew he would survive the shift.” Larry responded. “Ludwig was in danger of being buried by his own castle, and that nearly happened. He could have easily been buried by that rubble or buried by some falling mountain, then we'd have to dig for his corpse just to recover the Earth Wand. That would have sucked. Roy has experience with evil and is not intimated by threats, which is essential for survival. So for the short term, he is a good choice, but I think we're approaching the point where he'll need to be replaced with someone more permanent. This is really true with the UmNaru deciding to try and wipe us all out. Roy has no way to counter their magic and is by far the easiest target. As long as they continue to try to kill us, Roy will be a liability.”

Iggy hummed to himself. “But there's only one replacement.”

“Lemmy's better qualified than Roy is at the moment.” Larry argued. “Most of the remnant surrounds him and considers him their leader, and Roy himself thinks he's not the right guy for the job. Lemmy has the Wand of Koopa with him, the most powerful wand in the world and is surrounded with thousands of people inside a very guarded castle turned shelter. Attacking him will be far more difficult. He knows more magic than Roy does, though not nearly as much as the rest of us. Hell, even Morton knew more magic than Roy.”

“The problem is his lack of political and managerial abilities.” Iggy commented. 

“I don't know about that now. Look where he is. He has the entire region happy and dancing in the palm of his hand. I think its not a lack, but a different way of doing politics that you and I grew up with. Bowser always put on a face and made political obligations due to the government at the time. Lemmy doesn't have all that red tape, and he never puts on a false front. He goes to the root of the kingdom, the people and simply acts like himself. During a time when people lie and cheat just to stay alive, that is a big deal. He's already surrounded by a ton of good people, more so now that the Amura are public and are willing to defend him if he is attacked. I think he'll be fine. I'm going to go talk to Roy now and see what he thinks.” 

Iggy did not reply, but instead became aware of an idea that suddenly blasted through his head: Larry had to have planned this out the entire time. From giving the Earth Wand to Ludwig, then giving it to Roy and now finally to Lemmy. By giving the Wand to those who desired it the most (which coincidentally are those that desired power), he was eliminating potential rivals that may have undermined Lemmy's rule by showing them that the Earth Wand and the duties it entailed during the Transformation was not for them. Lemmy was his real choice the entire time. Iggy thought it was more incredible that Larry had managed to hide that fact from his conscious mind from him for so long. While the idea of Lemmy being king did cross Larry's mind from time to time, he did not expect him to be serious about it. It showed the limits of Iggy's abilites: he could read the conscious minds of others, but not their subconscious minds, and clearly not their hearts. Larry's planning must have been done either subconsciously or through his emotions.

“Cunning...very cunning.” Iggy said aloud as he watched Larry talk to Roy. “Very fitting for a Blood King.” He had clearly underestimated Larry's abilities. Roy nodded in seeming tandem, though unrelated to the subject. It seemed he had been expecting the question for some time.

“Yeah, not surprised.” Roy said. “I don't blame you. Did my job, but it's not my thing.” He reached inside his shell and held out the Earth Wand without saying anything else. After a moment's hesitation, Larry took the Earth Wand from him.

“So it's finally going to Lemmy?” Penny asked Iggy as he watched.

“What do you mean finally?” Iggy asked.

“Oh come on. It's obvious he's the best pick for the job...wait...you think Larry planned this out the whole time?”

“Yeah, a carefully crafted game of his.” said Iggy, not needing to explain the rest of his thoughts that were being read by Penny. “I think he meant to pick him from the beginning. My problem is why he hid this plan from us the whole time.”

“Good point.” Penny commented. “It's because he's sneaky.” 

“I know that already. I want to know what his motivations are for hiding something like that.”

“Because then Koopa would know too early.” Larry responded, apparently eavesdropping. “And the plan would be made conscious, and eventually vocal. Regarding Koopa, I had no choice, it had to be kept secret or the plan would have been doomed from the start. Right now, I doubt his influence will matter as I am about to deliver the speech to Lemmy. Even if they attack now, he is too late. But before I do, I guess I should ask for consensus to replacing Roy with Lemmy even though we already have four out of six for the yea's, if Mona confirms that.”

“Yeah yeah, that's fine.” Mona thought over a debate in a meeting. “I'm in this little squabble right now. But Roy should still be useful somehow, there's too much potential there. I know it was wasted with the Earth Wand, but maybe he can do something else with his survival skills?”

“After the attack, I think we'll see where he stands.” Larry replied. “There's a lot on our plate at the moment.”

“You got that right.” Mona muttered to herself, wondering how to solve the ongoing debate over vacating Genlic. It was not the first time it had occurred.

“Erzembar.” Iggy called out to the computer with a thought. “Is it possible to have a Nexus be the Earth King simultaneously?”

“Indeed it is.” Erzembar responded. “Though this arrangement is typically not desirable as the effects of the wand may hamper the ability of the Nexus to perform with a balanced mind. In this case, there is little other choice if one wishes to avoid the UmNaru from obtaining the Earth Wand, which has a high probability of occurring outside of giving said wand to one of the children, who are largely not prepared for such a position and would become an easy target were that to occur.” 

“So that's that.” Iggy muttered.

“Kylie.” Larry said, watching her stop weaving. “We are replacing Roy as the Earth King with Lemmy.”

Kylie inhaled. “Now why would you do that?”

“Several reasons. The first is that the UmNaru have started an agenda to kill the descendants of Bowser.” Larry replied. “And we have to all be at the ready for their attacks. This means being at least somewhat competent at magic, and we all know that Roy is not. He and Vincent are their primary targets so they alone must be equipped the most to handle this. But if he is not willing to learn what we give him, then he becomes more of a liability. There is going to be an attack on Erzembar in a few hours, so what he learns now is rather limited.

“The second reason is that at present, he doesn't fit the role of a real Earth King, that is a leader of the people. Lemmy certainly falls under that, though he may not be seen as such in the traditional sense, he still does so by definition. At this point, due to the attacks I am more inclined to protect the Earth Wand from falling into UmNaru hands, and should Roy be captured with the Earth Wand that would be a very bad thing. I asked Roy about it and he basically agreed with the reasoning.”

“So I'm probably the last to know of it then.” Kylie muttered.

“Well, we are taking a vote now, which is why I'm letting you know.” Larry said.

“I was never good at politics anyway.” Kylie said, sighing. “I just left that to Ludwig and the rest of you. I guess the rest have already voted to get rid of him?” Kylie clearly sounded depressed, partially due to hearing of Amy's death, but there were clearly other issues that were aggravated.

“Basically.” Larry replied.

“Yeah, well my vote doesn't count then.”

“It does, even if you are losing.” said Larry. “Voting is better than taking no action at all.”

“But it doesn't make a difference! Nothing I do will change anything.” Kylie complained.

“It shows that you care.” Larry said. “And a ruler must always care. Don't you care about the shelter Lemmy set up? That is a job for the Earth Queen and you are doing a fine job at it.”

“I'm sure you thought about replacing me.” Kylie mentioned. “I don't think I do a good job.”

“I don't have time for this, Kylie.” said Larry, getting annoyed.

“Sorry.” Kylie sighed and regathered herself. “Okay, I need to say a few things. First, if there's going to be an attack on Iggy's place, then I want my children home right now.”

“There is a plan in place to have a party--”

“No, right now.” Kylie insisted. Larry glanced over at Iggy. “Alright, do it.” he said. “Only Kylie's kids. The others can stay.”

Iggy was annoyed to see his plan fall apart, but nonetheless was wise enough to know not to piss off an angry mother. He obeyed and the children were all warped back to Lemmy's Castle simultaneously before they could start asking questions as to what was going on. Iggy started filling them as to what was happening via telepathy.

“It's done.” said Larry. “Ludwig, your kids have been sent back into your care. There is an attack pending on Erzembar and Kylie wants them back home. She is also a mess right now and could use your support.”

“...much appreciated.” he simply replied before standing from his desk and heading out into the main causeways of the castle.

“Do you really think Lemmy would be a good king?” Kylie asked. “Cause I don't know. He would be like a jester king.”

“He always was the king of jesters.” Larry pointed out. “But his ability comes from group support, not so much independent leadership. The fact that the group considers him the leader is what's important.”

“Yeah I guess...” Kylie murmured. “You know better than I do. I guess I'll vote yes just so I wont piss him off.”

“So that's 5 yeas. That's maximum, so Roy will no longer be the Earth King.” With the three wands lit with a bright radiance, they all conjoined their energies into the Earth Wand before a beam shot out from it at Roy, who underwent a reverse transformation back into a similar likeness of his older self. When it was complete, his horns were gone, but his height was not completely reduced and he remained a menacing figure. He breathed in the fresh air, the tense energies of the Earth Wand finally leaving him. “That's a load off my shoulders.” he remarked. “Yeah, this is the right way.”

“I will give you a few things before we start supper.” Iggy said.

“Wait, what happened?” Vincent said suddenly running up to them after finishing his class. “Why did you lose your horns? And where did everyone else go?”

“Not Earth King anymore.” said Roy. “Many reasons. But that was not my path. It's something else.”

“Just like that?” Vincent blinked. In an instant, boom! His dad was no longer king. 

“Yes, it has to do with the attack by the UmNaru that will happen soon.” said Larry. “Let's just say that your dad should not have the Earth Wand if you two are captured.”

“We won't be captured.” Vincent said. “At least I'm going to try not to be. I've been practicing the magic the Amura have, and it's really powerful. We have a chance if we put ourselves together.”

“Yes, exactly.” Ashley said. “We're the only two left, the rest are all the adults. I wish they didn't get sent home because a lot of them would've helped us. But we do have all those other people here, so if we pool together we'll be fine. I'll try to protect you as much as I can...”

Larry scratched his chin as he watched the children talk. “It's time to give Lemmy the verdict. Good luck out here.” he said before disappearing.

“Yeah, we're going to need it.” Iggy commented as he planned his next steps for Erzembar's defense. 

A moment later, and Larry appeared in a room stuffed with people around a low table filled with playing pieces. Evidently it was game time as the daily chores had already been completed. On one end of the table sat Lemmy Koopa as he looked over his opponents moves on a large map. The room fell quiet at Larry's appearance. 

“Hey Lemmy,” Larry began, “Sorry for interrupting. I have an offer that I hope you will accept.” 

Lemmy did not reply, but faces looked at each other all around the room.

“The UmNaru are about to attack Erzembar.” Larry explained. “They are looking for Roy and his son Vincent. There is a chance their attack might succeed, and the last thing I want are the UmNaru to take the Earth Wand from him. So I asked him about it, and he said he was fine on giving it up, and the council of monarchs passed the vote.” He held up the Earth Wand and the room immediately exploded into commotion, already guessing Larry's intent. “So here it is.” Larry shouted above the noise. More people began filling into the room and people made shouts for Lemmy to take the wand, but Lemmy instead looked down. This was exactly the situation he wished to avoid the most in his life, and yet here it was right in front of him. It was a long time before he said anything.

“When is the attack supposed to happen?” he finally asked, voices calming down.

“Within an hour now.” Larry replied. Lemmy fell quiet in thought and the voices rose again. Larry listened to the amusing chanting some of them were doing: it was amazing to watch the amount of effort they were exerting to help out Lemmy. The small Koopaling eventually leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. “I don't rule like a king.” he remarked.

“That's pretty subjective right there.” Larry replied. “Many kings rule in different ways. It doesn't mean you have to rule like Bowser did. You're ruling right now, king or not.” Shouts went up with that statement and Larry almost lost his train of thought. “The Earth King is the king of the people, of the kingdom the people make for themselves. You already do that, so you naturally attracted this to you I think.”

Lemmy suddenly laughed and sat up. “I don't rule, we all rule. I suggest stuff and we work it out, you know. There's no money or stupid taxes. Yeah, screw taxes.” Shouts went up and an applause went around the room. “There's no stupid taxes cause that was the first thing we burned: tax books. I suggested it, yeah but I didn't order it. It's not my style. We decided that yes, taxes are dumb and that my dad just wanted to see us suffer. He gave me the middle finger my entire life and expected me to become big and strong like him, even though...you know. Well guess what? You don't bring riches with you when you die, you don't get your golden throne or the castle treasury or the empire you built. You just have your bones and your actions to speak for you. That's all we become, so what really matters? The friendships we have, our lovers, the knowledge we learn, what we learn in life, that's what matters. And you guys are awesome by the way.” Another prolonged applause and Lemmy blushed in his seat. Larry smiled. To him, it was becoming clear that Lemmy had some kind of fear of becoming king and that it had something to do with Bowser. Whether it was Bowser's hatred for Lemmy or something else, he did not know.

“Thanks guys.” Lemmy managed to say. But despite his speech, Larry still held the Wand of the Earth in front of him and it did not go away. Lemmy inhaled. “I'm not going to fill Bowser's shoes cause what he did is gone. Naru wiped out what he did, and I think we're building a better place right now anyway. So I'm gonna do my own thing if you guys are okay with that. I kind of am anyway. I guess in a way I already am like a king, just not a selfish greedy one so you're right Larry. It doesn't matter if I take it or not. I made my own place here. But if you really want me to...”

“There's no one else who can.” Larry admitted.

“I don't really want to take it, personally.” said Lemmy. “But I need to take it because of what those evil idiots are doing. And I know they're going to come for us at some point, so I'm better off with it because I can protect you guys better. This is really for you guys, not me.” Standing up, the room exploded in cheers and Lemmy finally walked over and took the wand from Larry. Instantly, a tingle went through his arms and he felt his vision readjust to new layers of reality. “Woah, funky.” he remarked as he maintained his balance. “Are they all like this?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” said Larry. “You get used to it after a while. Iggy's is the craziest, he works with different levels of reality at once so he tells me.”

“But he's a master multitasker.” said Lemmy. “It's just like a hard level in a game for him I bet. So is that it? I just take dad's old wand?”

“Not that easy.” said Larry. “You need to be initiated.” 

“What's that?” Lemmy asked as Iggy suddenly teleported into the room with stunned faces looking at him. “Is that like with Roy earlier?”

“Yes.” Iggy said, waving at all the people. “Hi guys.”

“Just a quick question.” an old lady suddenly shouted. “Are you guys going to have any control over how we do things here?”

“Not like Bowser.” Iggy responded. “That kind of job is now Lemmy's, but you already know he does things differently. He's the Earth King, I'm the Spirit King who's in charge of spiritual evolution...” He made a show of fingers. “...and he's the Blood King, who's in charge of our whole family. But no, other than Lemmy and our own survival shelters, we have no direct control over how people do things.”

“Okay thank you, that's all I wanted to know.” Someone snickered at the random outburst.

“Okay, let's get this done.” said Larry. The three wands glowed brightly once more and pooled their light into the Earth Wand, and immediately Lemmy's form twisted in shape as he made a small cry. His height grew and a pair of horns emerged from his head, but when it was all said and done he still remained shorter than the other kings. Lemmy blinked and tapped the top of his head. “Holy crap. Can I have a mirror?”

Someone fished out a mirror from their old pocketbook and gave it to Lemmy who promptly looked at himself with awe. “Woah...” was all he could say. 

“You look pretty handsome there, king.” someone joked and others made similar jabs at him. 

“Well look at you!” said Kylie who worked her way into the room followed by Ludwig and the rest of their children. “You look like a cute little devil. I guess these wands can't make everyone look menacing. I thought these horns made me look bad.”

Lemmy shrugged. “I'm not really going for that anyway.”

“So the day has arrived.” Ludwig mused. “It was always seen as a potential possibility, however remote it was during those times of...uncertainty, but I suppose that the Blood King's master plan has now finally come to fruition. With no competitors, you are now allowed free reign over your subjects and a wide swath of land to control around you with little conflict.” To Iggy, it appeared that Ludwig had guessed the same thing on his own.

“I am not doing this Bowser style.” Lemmy said with a wave of his hand. “I don't work like that. Everything will keep going like its been going. I just have a pair of horns and another wand now that can do some things. I took it because it's a good idea, not like I wanted to or anything...oh and the UmNaru.”

“They will be less likely to attack you because of your position now.” said Larry. 

“Are those the guys that we banned from coming in here?” a raised voice asked. “Those guys that supposedly had control over Bowser and the kingdom?”

“Yeah, those are the same guys.” Lemmy answered. “They're still trying to control everything. That's one conspiracy that is real, not all of them are, but yeah.”

“Their opposite counterpart are the Amura.” Iggy explained. “They were resurrected not too long ago since they've been dead for a long time. They work in white magic--”

“Eh.” Lemmy muttered, looking around him. “I really don't want any of that here.”

“Really?” Iggy said, somewhat surprised. “Why not?”

“Cause they would bring trouble. They're living targets right now for the UmNaru, so wherever they go they would bring danger. You said they're going to be attacked soon at Erzembar right?” 

"I don't want no politics here Lemmy!" came a shout.

"Well, you know a few of my kids are...you know, Amura right?" Kylie asked with an annoyed look from Ludwig.

"No I didnt..." Lemmy said, frowning. Kylie motioned for her children and they reluctantly opened the palms of their right hands. A hushed murmur went across the room then.

"Well now I feel bad." Lemmy said.

"Why? Don't tell me you're going to kick us out." Kylie said with a worried look.

"I mean..." Lemmy began, scratching his head. "I'm not banning them from chilling out here, they can do that if they want. Of course the UmNaru are banned, but the Amura are okay. They're white magic users so people could use their stuff, like all those dying from diseases and such. We could use help there, there's a ton of people outside that need help. What I'm saying is that I don't want them to live here. They can visit and help us, but they're a kind of help that attracts trouble and we already have enough trouble. I bet the UmNaru are attacking you Iggy because of the Amura."

"That is one reason, unfortunately." Iggy admitted. "Because of their existence they will always be attacked by the UmNaru. They have power equal to theirs but in their opposite spectrum, so they're always trying to destroy each other. The difference is that the Amura want to destroy all evil and make the world a better place to live. Unlike the UmNaru, the Amura is open to everyone. I would do a recruiting drive if we weren't about to be attacked..."

"I wouldn't mind that!" Lemmy chimed in. "We're overstuffed right now. There's just way too many people, so if that'll give them something to eat and a good bed then count me in."

"They all work for their food." Iggy clarified. "You have to take care of yourself at Erzembar of course. Reaching for the light does take some sacrifice after all." There was a pause. “I need to go. It seems they upped their schedule.”

“Cause Roy's not the Earth King now...” Larry thought.

“Okay, well it's fine if they stay for now.” said Lemmy. But Iggy warped out of the room in a slight panic, not expecting the UmNaru to attack so early. “They are about to attack right now!” Iggy said telepathically to those at Erzembar. “If you are not combat ready, then please find some cover. They will kill you if they find you! Vincent, Roy! Get ready! Trent, watch your breathing and keep your chakras in alignment! Ashley, back up Vincent...”

Roy brandished a white spectrum wand given to him by Iggy not too long ago. Given his scant time with the device, he wondered how useful it would be against the oncoming intruders and thought better to try and seek shelter within Erzembar itself. But his pride had a hard time letting him and he remained indecisive. Vincent however was more confident and swung his newly created white spectrum wand practicing a few spells in preparation. He was more inclined to face the enemies head on.

Many of the Amura, despite their desires to help fight back the coming tide were reluctant, being only newly initiated and believed they lacked the skillset necessary. Thus most took refuge within Erzembar along with the majority of the population that made up the survival site set up. Ashley frowned, somewhat less confident now that Trent and the others were forced back to Lemmy's Castle and that she was practically on her own in supporting Vincent.

“I hope you're good.” Ashley muttered, preparing a white radial for protection.

“The real problem is what tricks they have.” Vincent replied, turning to her. “They love to trick people, like Lemmy but in bad ways.”

“Like what?” Ashley asked.

“Like tricking you into attacking your sisters when they tell you they torched your journal, when they actually didn't. The UmNaru took it because I was writing about trying to find a way out. They made us turn on each other all the time like that.”

“And where are they now?” Ashley asked inevitably.

“They're gone.” Vincent muttered, casting a protection spell around himself. 

“Oh...sorry...” Ashley muttered as she thought to herself. “Why are people so selfish? It's stupid, if people would just stop hating, then this world would be a better place. It's like people want everything served to them on a silver plate or something. Maybe it's the old world my dad talked about. It seemed everyone wanted to be treated like a king.”

“People are stupid.” Vincent admitted. “I don't like saying it, but...it's true. But it's up to smart people to make them better, at least that's how I see it.”

“And if they don't?” Ashley asked. “They think they know everything. Just look at the adults. They seem so smug with their wands, but I wonder how they were like before they got them. They were probably just Koopa's.”

“They were probably scared just like the rest of us.” Vincent commented. “That's why they have them.”

Ashley laughed. “Maybe, but maybe they just want to help too.”

“Help other people not be scared of themselves? Or to manage people to keep them away? Which one? I still wonder which.” Vincent saw a few beings approach from the north. “The UmNaru keeps people away, that's what they're all about, being seperated. The Amura are the opposite. They're coming.”

“Yeah I see them.” Ashley wound up another spell in her wand in preparation. Iggy in the meantime became aware of a thought form of the incoming attackers to try and kill him, and several spirits suddenly came up from the north and swept into the region. “Penny, you got this?” 

“Yeah.” Sitting on top Iggy's high seat, Penny cast a white radial that enveloped Erzembar in a glowing white light. The incoming spirits suddenly became visible and were agitated, but their backers, tall hooded Koopas with purple wands spurred them forward and they immediately headed towards Vincent and Ashley. Surrounding them, Vincent unleashed an explosion of white magic that sent the physical wielders to the ground withering in pain. But the spirits refused to relent, and they began attacking the youth with black magic. Ashley conjured up a following of white spirits that immediately attacked their dual counterparts while Vincent began finishing off the Koopa's that tried to cast paralysis spells on him. Iggy dodged an attempt on his life, an instant kill spell and in return reflected the spell back at the user, killing him instantly. But during the attack, Roy had suddenly disappeared. “Damnit.” It was a diversion. More poured in and things started to become dangerous. “Vincent, you and Ashley need to warp into Erzembar.” Iggy warned. “I'll let the pylons deal with the rest.”

Vincent nodded and attempted a teleportation spell, but was suddenly interrupted by a pair of spirits that came over him and attempted to cast a teleportation spell of their own. “Crap!” Vincent cried as he let loose another white blast, but it did little to them and they resumed their casting. Vincent frantically cast his walking in shadows spell but upon arriving in the spirit world, they loomed over him and he completely disappeared.

“God damnit.” Iggy muttered as he was too late in stopping him, a fireball of white exploding moments later. The spirits hovered over Ashley next, but Iggy immediately teleported her into the confines of Erzembar before she could suffer the same fate. “Hey Penny! Do you see that? They gave us their location!”

“That's their base?” Penny asked, seeing it herself. It had remained hidden to them up until that point. It seemed the UmNaru's teleportation spell had given them a line of sight somehow.

“Fire Erzembar right at it!” Iggy commanded. “Use that thing you've been working on!”

“That's a good idea!” Penny pushed a few buttons, and moments later the capstone of Erzembar lit up and with a congregation of potent white magic, it fired a large beam of energy towards the north into the old Koopahari range. It struck a hidden location in the mountains which revealed a formally cloaked fortress carved into its rock, and white lightnings shot through its entire structure causing much damage. Inside, the UmNaru went into a panic, not expecting such an attack and attempted to stem the tide of magic with proved fruitless. Many of their systems became overloaded and exploded as white energy crawled through its formally blackened pathways.

“We have suffered a direct hit from Erzembar!” one UmNaru announced in the command center. The Vice looked on but said nothing for the moment. “Our location has been compromised to the enemy. The Naryathi barrier has been breached. We are attempting to contain the white magic.”

The Vice formed a ball of black in his hand, and facing one of the walls took some of the white magic flowing through it. The ball rippled until it faded and revealed a number of what appeared to be bright microscopic critters that crawled about through the air. “Nanites?” The Vice muttered.

“The magic is compromising our current systems.” the UmNaru continued. “We cannot contain it without a full purge.”

“What of the objectives?” The Vice asked.

“The one they call Vincent is now in our custody.” the UmNaru announced. “The former Earth King has just been taken into arrest.”

“Then we have achieved what we set out to do.” said the Vice. “Order a full retreat.”

“Yes your liege.”

“Upon the reconfiguration of our forces, I want Irien to be destroyed within 48 hours.” The Vice announced. “Those who have jeopardized its safety will be met with the punishments set out by Latherion's protocol of failure. Those who resist will be met with death. Send an advance force to the next.”

“What of the prisoners?” the UmNaru asked.

“Their punishments will be dealt with before destruction.” said the Vice. “Unless you desire to see them destroyed outright.”

“Of course.” the UmNaru replied before bowing and walking out of the room. He quickly walked down a hallway and entered a room on the far end, where Narec was seated writing something upon a scroll. “What is the verdict?” Narec asked.

“He wants Irien destroyed within 48 hours.” the UmNaru reported. “And those who were responsible for causing its compromise executed.”

Narec softly laughed to himself before putting down his pen. “Ruthless as usual.”

“Considering it was you who voted to hold Vincent alive, I do believe you will be among--”

“I will not.” Narec said, smiling. “For you are my courier service.”

“Sir?”

“Have Vincent undergo the martyr process.” Narec ordered. “His fate will be decided by his own words. As for that...brute, his torture is all but inevitable, I would personally suggest level 3, but I leave it to your discretion. I do request that when the Vice orders Vincent's execution, that his father is conscious for the event. This will maximize his ultimate breakdown back to our cause.”

“Of course your liege.”

“In the meantime, prepare for our departure within the next 2 hours. I want my belongings within Parnax by that time. My daughter's fate is her own.”

“Of course.”

Narec paused. “How do you like serving two faces?” he unexpectedly asked.

“...it is a reflection of life itself.” the UmNaru merely said.

“Well enough.” Narec waved his hand, and the servant exited the room. Narec had kept too much baggage within him over the years, and now was the perfect time to cut all that away. Considering her recent antagonism, she was old enough to lead on her own will, if her mind would allow her of course.

But for Iggy, his mind was of a different makeup. He knew that Roy was at their mercy now, given his lack of defense against them. But Vincent was in a different position and surrounded by many different agendas, all vying to use him to their own ends. In the end, only one agenda would prevail and Iggy took a guess as to which it was. But still, their capture was problematic.

A call from Penny interrupted his thoughts and he teleported back into the main chamber of Erzembar to find that the Kappur had arrived. "Greetings." they said as the monarchs and children looked on. "We have responded to a call for assistance to the current situation. It would be more feasible to help those within Erzembar at the current time, but they are of a mind to help each other so we shall continue in regards to the greater picture. Roy cannot be rescued as he is not of the service to others orientation. Vincent may be rescued, but his spirit does not desire this type of rescue."

"Why not?" Iggy asked.

"He desires to be on the front lines." the Kappur answered. "We can assure you that despite the many agendas surrounding him, only one will indeed prevail. We have stated that the service to self will be removed from the planet during the transformation, forcibly if required. There are many ways to accomplish this."

"They'll be destroying their old fortress in 48 hours." said Iggy. "Maybe now is the best time to attack, considering how close they are to Lemmy's Castle and we don't know anything about their next place."

"Indeed, they have been attempting to direct events at Lemmy's Castle and the Bambesh Valley." said the Kappur. "While they have been partially successful at Bambesh Valley, their efforts have been wasted on Lemmy's Castle which is receiving help from more than just the Koopa's. Frankly, the move to make Lemmy Koopa the next Earth King was not expected by the UmNaru elite. As he holds the Wand of Koopa and is simultaneously the Nexus, the UmNaru are furious and have begun to attack settlements in retaliation. By doing so, they will risk exposing themselves further. You will be able to find their remaining holdouts in this fashion.”

“We should clean up what they did first.” Penny mentally suggested, motioning to some of the damage throughout Erzembar.

“Yes, let's see if we can find some help.” Iggy said. 

“Those in the service to others will help themselves, leader or no.” the Kappur mentioned. “As you can see, many are already helping themselves.” Indeed, within Iggy's mentalscape were groups of people already picking up the pieces. “This is due, in part, to soul arrangements, entities agreeing to work together for a common purpose. We have the permission to say that this is the case for several of your children currently present, in particular Iggy Koopa Jr. and Morton Koopa III whose souls both wished we share this information. It is a great reminder that the entities that are met upon the physical plane may not be a first meeting and may have met previously elsewhere. The teams now in place for the Aftertime were largely set up previously with common goals in mind.”

Iggy recalled seeing the shadow of Lemmy when first meeting the Kappur onboard one of their motherships before the pole shift. “So this is all subconscious information.” Iggy stated as a matter of fact.

“Precisely. In Vincent's case, this matter was already decided upon as the best way to drive out the service to self. As we stated earlier, we are not allowed to interfere with the lessons of the Koopa, however we are allowed to assist and advice those currently learning said lessons.”

“We should clean up.” Penny repeated. Iggy sighed. “Okay, sorry Penny. Let's go clean up.”

“I listen!” Morton suddenly burst out, pointing at the Kappur. “I listen!” Iggy Jr. next to him nodded, too shy to talk despite having the knowledge.

“I believe Morton wants to learn a few things from the Kappur.” Iggy said aloud. “Junior as well. It is really our job to educate them however.”

“Indeed, this is your schoolhouse.” the Kappur replied. “However, we may suggest an alleviation to your current worries...”

Penny and Iggy exchanged glances. They did not like waiting to help those outside, and yet this was a pristine opportunity. Then again, it seemed those outside were helping themselves as the Kappur stated. “They shall greatly aid in the cleanup efforts.” the Kappur added, reading their thoughts.

“...alright.” Iggy said after a moment. “They are the future for the planet and it's better not to run from the future.” In an instant, a lifeform appeared next to the Kappur that greatly resembled the Koopa, but had a somewhat larger head and its shell was sleeker and thinner. Its skin was smoother and somewhat paler than their more yellow counterparts, but their eyes were as large, if not larger. It was a hybrid, the race that is to succeed the Koopa's and the Kappur in the 4th Density. It appeared to observe its surroundings before looking at the Kappur and nodding. 

“Welcome.” Iggy relayed telepathically. Iggy Jr. got up from the floor and made a wave with his hand. The hybrid waved its clawless hand in response. “Well that's cute.” Ashley commented, who had remained quite until then. 

“It is great to finally meet you.” the hybrid thought, though it appeared nervous. “We might not say much because your race's anxiety keeps us distant, and what it has done to our planet. This destruction requires a lot of cleaning up and we are willing to help yourselves, being this survival encampment and a few others who are entirely service to others. There are many who are not ready to see us, and their awakening will tie in hand in hand with our arrival, should they reach that point. We also wish to see others in your family ready to meet us in this physical life, but...”

“They are not ready.” Iggy finished for him. “Because of life circumstances beyond their control.”

“Mmm, largely.” the hybrid nodded. “Though we wish to meet them.” He smiled. “Elizabeth for one, she is highly compassionate and courageous. Vincent too, though he is on a mission currently. A few others. Time will let us.”

“We all will at some point.” said Iggy. “This is a good start. Once our schedules coalesce and the service to self are no longer a major threat I think it'll become much easier.”

“Of course.” the hybrid said. “Though I was referring to the soul's state of anxiety in relation to...other species.”

Iggy nodded, now understanding what he meant. “Then that will have to come with time. Each soul develops at its own rate depending upon its past experience and the experiences it has here in this life. I imagine the souls here now have passed that test.”

The hybrid nodded. “Indeed, it is a start. We hope to reach out to those souls that are in need when they reach that time. We have a great desire to meet them.” He paused. “But now, we shall work with what we have. The Kappur have requested that we babysit your young ones as you assist in the cleanup effort.” He made a short laugh. “We shall help with both. We shall first appear to those who are immediately ready to see us and will work with the rest. All souls here are, at the worst very close to ready. Now then, let us start. Another group will help with the industrial spills found on the shores of this domain.”

“That's very generous of you.” Penny said. “We haven't had time to think about a plan for that.” 

“No worries.” A few more hybrids entered the room then and immediately started talking via telepathy to the children. “I believe you would like the one you call Lexie to participate?” the first hybrid asked.

“Yes, actually.” Iggy responded, and Lexie appeared a moment later, having been born not long ago from one of the undamaged eggs of the late Morton. “They shall attend to this task while we clean up.” the hybrid stated.

“By the way, what's your name?” Penny couldn't help to ask.

“We do not have names.” the hybrid said. “But you shall know of us by our thoughts and our hearts. You will see.” With that, both Penny and Iggy warped out with a group of hybrids into the exterior of Erzembar and began their clean up efforts while the kids listened to the hybrids with intense curiosity. But despite their friendliness, Ashley couldn't help but worry about Vincent's well being. 

“It has been decided.” a voice came in her mind. “He will be fine. Wait and see.”


	53. Shadows of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The love to shine forth must first uproot all shadows.  
> The souls emerging engage in conflict inevitable.

Vincent Koopa woke up and found himself bound and tied to a cross inside of a dark room. He felt a stream of water being poured on the top of his head and spilling onto the floor below before circling a bloody drain. What was this? He didn't know, but he did remember being captured by a pair of spirits before his memory blacked out. He guessed he was somewhere inside a fortress of the UmNaru, probably one of their dungeons. Multiple cries were heard through the stone walls...they were going to torture him, weren't they?

Vincent looked at his open palms. The marks seemed to be untouched by his captors and he wondered if he could unravel the ties around his arms and legs. The water was already beginning to annoy him. He quietly chanted a spell and waited, but nothing happened. The mark of Amura glowed then faded. "What's going on?" Vincent muttered.

A door opened on the far end with a metallic clang. "Magic doesn't work in this room." came a feminine voice. "I wouldn't try that anyway. That's for desperate people."

"Who are you?" Vincent asked, but the wrist straps suddenly tightened, cutting off a part of his blood flow.

"My magic works through.” she mentioned. “Be careful with what you say. I don't like to be upset. I've been upset too much lately by these people who say bad things. You can ask me questions, but I better like them." She put on a creepy smile. "Just a warning."

"Okay..." Vincent managed to say as he struggled. "Sorry." 

Her eyes suddenly bulged wide. "Never give that sorry shit to me!" she shouted and took a knife from her belt before launching it at the helpless Koopaling. It struck his right shoulder and Vincent gritted his teeth with a growl.

"Now you're gonna cry in pain, aren't you???" she shouted at him. "They all do that, they all cry. I was going to be nice to you because you're a relative, and I don't like killing relatives. So I got you with some simple water torture." While she talked, a poison had spread from the knife throughout the right side of Vincent's body, stopping short of the mark of Amura. His skin turned grey and seemed to slowly whither, but Vincent knew that he could not cry in pain. He could not show any emotion. “I will be fine.” he said, almost growling. 

“Yeah, dead people are boring.” she responded as the straps loosened around his wrists. “They're more fun alive.” Her personality suddenly changed and she laughed. “You can call me Tee by the way.” she said, walking to the door. “I need to go for a bit. I hope you'll be in a better mood when I get back.” 

The door slammed shut and Vincent was left alone again, with the poisoned knife still in his shoulder. “I'll be in a better mood.” Vincent spat. “Fucking psycho.” He looked at the knife and the sickly skin surrounding it. He wondered how he could fix this mess, but the water wouldn't let him think correctly, as it was designed to slowly make him go mad.

A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Then, the sound of dull thunder was heard over the cries of others and Vincent saw a streak of white flash through the walls for a moment. White magic? How? It didn't matter. Inhaling, Vincent stretched his right hand and waited, hoping another would pass near him. A minute later another did, and muttering an incantation he drew the energy directly to his hand and it spread throughout his body freely. He winced as the knife slowly worked its way out of his shoulder on its own until it fell and clanged on the ground. His skin slowly returned to normal as the small amount of white spectrum tried to heal him. The poison was seemingly gone. However, the magic did not free him from the cross. For now, Vincent focused in healing his wound as his greater concentration was all but subdued by the water that continuously poured over his head. 

Eventually, Vincent lost track of time as he became more focused on his stability and became more introverted within himself. He almost didn't hear the door open and close in front of him. Tee appeared with a large bucket in her arms. "Well, aren't you a magician." she flatly commented, noticing her knife now on the floor. "How could you do that with no magic allowed in here? Is there something you should tell me?"

Vincent looked into the bucket and saw a pile of bloody organs. He thought better of his original answer.

"Answer me." she commanded.

"I can't help it." Vincent finally said, unemotionally.

"Yeah, they usually can't." she remarked, walking towards a door to Vincent's left.

"I was born for it." Vincent added. Tee looked at him for a moment before entering the adjacent room. He guessed that Tee probably figured him out by now and would try to stifle the Mark of Amura at some point. In any case, it seemed that white magic had a way of entering the room and he knew that it would probably be his only means of escaping.

“I wouldn't bother trying to get out.” said Tee, re-entering the room. “They're going to kill you anyway, in a few hours. I'm sure they'll have your dad watch.”

“They will try.” Vincent flatly replied.

“They'll cut off your other hand first.” Tee said. “I would do it, but that would be boring and I'm in a good mood. Do you know how many I got to kill today?” she asked.

“How many?” Vincent asked.

“5.” she said. “They failed us when they captured you, and we got attacked by that Spirit King. They had to be chopped up. They should have done a better job, but their organs are good quality at least. Would be useful for the next ceremony if that guy...didn't want this place destroyed.”

Vincent did not respond. Turning, Tee walked back to the door. “Now I have to talk with father, and see where we'll go next. He doesn't like you very much, so...I don't think your treatment will go well when I get back.”

“Who is he?” Vincent bluntly asked. 

“His name is Narec.” she replied before closing the door. She didn't see Vincent's eyes go wide afterwords as he realized the predicament he was in.

“This is bad...I need to get out of here...” he said to himself. If Narec didn't kill him, then she certainly would. Using black magic was useless in this room and so were the other spectrums, with the exception of white. What white spell could help now? White flame? Vincent wondered why he didn't think of that earlier, but the water answered that question for him. He cast the spell, but nothing happened. That's right, he didn't have enough energy. He needed to wait for another bolt. The sound of thunder rumbled through the walls, but Vincent couldn't see another bolt enter the room. 

“Let me see him!!!” came a cry through the walls, sounding like Tee's voice. 

“His orders are clear.” came another voice, older and masculine. “Unless you are authorized to speak with him, please mind the statutes before I am forced to take you prisoner myself!” The voices died and Vincent wondered what had happened, but he was given little time to think as Tee walked back into the room with a dark, brooding look. She stopped at a desk near the door and did not say or do anything for a long while. After getting stabbed with her knife, Vincent found it wiser to stay silent.

“Why does father do this?” she asked out loud. “Why is he a hypocrite? You wanted unity, but you still keep us apart. You lie. They all lie. Why do they lie?” She went quiet as if expecting a response.

“To take advantage of you.” Vincent replied cooly.

Tee snorted and looked down. “What would they want with little old me...a butcher, a killer, an unwanted child born to hate...” She suddenly unsheathed a knife and slammed it on the ground. “I would carve them all out myself and plaster the Vice on his own door.” She went silent for a moment, then picked her knife off the ground before re-sheathing it. “He is a relic that should be used for art.”

“I have beaten Narec once.” Vincent boldly said. “When he tried to beat me and my father, I blasted him from John's Castle and watched him fall to the great below. He should not be alive. I will do the same to the Vice if I had the chance.”

Tee looked at him but said nothing.

“I am...tired of being used as a plaything for these adults and their games they play. I beat Narec and made my own path where I would not be controlled by anyone but myself. I would gladly kill the Vice and destroy this place before any of them saw it coming.”

Tee remained silent and unwavering. 

“Like the rest of them, they underestimate my potential. I have already killed more UmNaru than I can remember. What is holding them back? What I say now can kill me. You could kill me right now if you wanted. What will you do?”

Tee finally turned and walked up to Vincent until she came face to face with the youth. “I will prepare for your execution.” she quietly said before turning and heading back out the door again. Vincent hung his head and laughed. “I am screwed...” he muttered to himself. So much for talking his way out of it. Unless another white bolt happened upon the room, his only chance now was at the chopping block. Maybe then he could plan something and fight his way out, but doubtless the UmNaru would have a failsafe against that sort of thing happening. If he could pull that off, then he would have to rely solely on white magic which they were not used to. 

Some time passed yet again and Vincent felt his mind slowly slip into madness. The water was effecting him now, but he needed to remain focused if he was going to survive. A white flash went through the room then, and Vincent stretched his right palm as much as he could and managed to make contact with the bolt, sending a jolt of energy through his body. Now he had the power to free himself, but his heart told him to not use it yet. Indeed, the executioners were coming and he would be better off using it there. Vincent kept the white magic stored inside the mark of Amura as a battle plan unfurled in his mind. 

The door opened again and Tee reentered the chamber once more. She walked forward until stopping a few feet in front of him. “I want to tell you something.” she said. “I took care of the recorders. They can't hear you now. They can't hear me. They can't know what I am going to tell you.”

“Then tell me.” Vincent said flatly.

“You get a choice.” she said, walking up to him. “You can remain here and I'll let the executioner take care of you, like they wanted and you'll die ashamed with your name damned in the registry forever. Or you can go and...destroy whatever is left of my father. Destroy this place if you want to and kill everyone inside it. I won't stop you from doing it.” She paused.

Vincent exhaled. That seemed too easy. “What's the catch?” he asked. 

Tee smiled, the first time Vincent had seen her smile. “You have to go through me first.” she said. 

“Do you really want to die that much?” Vincent asked coldly.

“Yes...” Tee suddenly untied her robe and it fell to the floor, revealing her nakedness which Vincent had hardly expected. He barely managed to keep face as Tee walked up to his face again. “Yes, I want you to kill me.” she said tenderly, caressing his cheek. “Hurt me, cut me, use me, kill me and throw me away. It's all I ever deserved, and there's no one here that can beat me like the useless doll I am.”

Vincent's marks went haywire and he felt his mind quickly being torn apart, nevermind the sensations he felt in his nether regions. Unable to rely on intellect, he trusted his heart to speak for him. “When I become free...I will put you back where you belong.” his lips ended up uttering.

“You can do that yourself.” she remarked. “I know you can, with that white mark of yours.” 

The idea of escape came to Vincent's mind albeit briefly, but he could no longer think logically and he had only one objective in mind now. Whether the mark of UmNaru was influencing his decision was not known and neither did he care. Vincent stretched his right palm and a white explosion erupted from his hand, breaking the ties around his appendages and sending him to the ground on all fours. The water torture device splattered everywhere, drenching the majority of the room. At length, Vincent stood up. While the door remained an option, something told him that running from her might be unwise especially in a place like this. She could have killed him many times over, but had not and he wondered where her allegiance really was. Vincent also noticed his wand was missing, likely taken from him after capture. That made escaping past Tee and into the UmNaru enclave much more risky.

“I am free...” Vincent said. “...but you stand in my way, Tee.”

“It's what I was born to do.” Tee responded. “To stand in people's way and make them suffer.”

“Here's what I was born to do.” With his left hand, Vincent wrapped a cloth of darkness around Tee's chest which lifted her off the floor in a suffocating trauma. With a wave, Tee was thrown through the doorway into the next room before slamming into the far wall on the other end. Sliding to the ground, she moaned but said nothing else. 

Vincent walked into the room, an old freezer of some kind for organs and body parts. The bucket that Tee had brought in beforehand lay on a table on one side of the room, and was now empty. The side walls were lined with stone doors, though the room did not feel cold at all. He turned his attention back to Tee.

“I was born to destroy the UmNaru.” Vincent said. “And I will destroy you.”

“Yes, please...” she whispered, trying to maneuver herself on the ground, but Vincent wouldn't let her and another band of darkness forced her back to the floor. She lay there helpless and Vincent had second thoughts as he did not like to be the one to harm others, but it was clear that he did not have much of a choice. If he stopped now, then she could haunt his life for a long time to come. With his wand gone, the only way to escape the UmNaru was to be an UmNaru, and Vincent could tell she had been abused by them in the past. Yes, he would destroy her, the UmNaru part of her. Something told him that she hated the place too.

“How should I punish you?” Vincent asked aloud. “I could cut off your head since you freed a prisoner, but that's not very fun. I want to have some fun with you like you had fun with me.” He raised her up again with his black magic spell and slammed her against the back wall, this time her body being held in place. Her small teenage breasts stood out to Vincent and he became more aroused, much like the time he and Ashley had a little “Q & A” together not too long ago. With some knowledge of the feminine anatomy, Vincent moved in and clasped her breast with her right hand. “I know exactly what I'm going to do to you.” he said before jamming several claws up her pussy. Tee moaned softly, well adjusted to the pain that her abused life had brought her. While he finger banged her violently, his other hand glowed briefly before relaxing and she seemed to relax somewhat with her breathing growing more regular. He hoped that she could be turned around and maybe this was the way to do it...

But heightened voices on the other side of the wall made him stop abruptly. It seemed that Tee noticed as well, looking towards the same direction. Needing to keep his face up, Vincent violently threw her to the ground. “Looks like they want me. Get changed. It's time to destroy this place.” But after saying this, he noticed something shining underneath Tee's clothes. On instinct, he used an attract spell and sure enough his wand flew back into his hand. “Do not even think about using this against me, Tee.”

“It's Tyrendil.” she muttered, getting back onto her feet. “You didn't finish.”

“Because those guys are coming to get me for my so-called execution.” Vincent explained. “If I wasn't stopped by them, then I would have. But now I have to destroy them and this whole place before I can.”

“Do it quickly.” Tyrendil said. “I am getting tired of them ruining my dreams.” She walked past him to her robes in the other room.

“What are your dreams?” Vincent asked.

“To be free.” she responded, putting her robes back on. 

"I'll give you that if you come with me." Vincent said.

"Only if you finish what you started." Tyrendil said. Vincent felt a little conflicted with her, but destroying the fortress was the greater priority and he needed all the energy that he could get. Wasting it now was a bad idea.

There was a pounding on the door in the main room. Vincent prepared himself while Tyrendil fixed her robes before opening the door. A hooded UmNaru was revealed and he simply walked past her uninvited into the room. "Where is the prisoner?" he asked. "It is time for the execution."

"Your prisoner is right here." Vincent walked into the room with his new wand in hand, already ready to cast a spell.

"What is this-" but his words turned into an agonizing scream as a white flame surrounded his body, reducing him into bones and ash. 

"Where is the closest exit?" Vincent asked, stealthily looking out of the door.

"That way..." she pointed down the hall to the left. "I'll show you." The coast was clear for the time being, and so the two stepped out into the hallway with Tyrendil leading the way.

"I must find my father and free him before we leave." Vincent mentioned.

Tyrendil hummed. "That's a little tricky. He's shackled up and monitored every hour of the day."

"So? I'll just kill them." Vincent claimed, but then heard voices erupt in his head. "Iggy?" he thought. It sounded like him.

"Yes, can...hear me." came the garbled response. It seemed the fortress had some kind of telepathic blocking spell around it and Iggy was trying to overcome it. 

"Sort of." Vincent replied.

"We...coming. Get...trust...show you...the meantime...the white magic in...wall...the wand." It was very garbled.

"The Amura are coming." Vincent said aloud. "Even if I don't destroy this place, they will. Show me where Roy is, and I'll free him." 

Tyrendil merely nodded and turned down a corner into another hallway lined with prison cells. Vincent tried to decipher what Iggy was talking about earlier. Was he saying that Vincent could use the magic in the wall with his wand? Of course, why couldn't he? He should have thought of that earlier. That gave him an idea.

Ahead was a cell guarded by two UmNaru and they noticed the pair approach. Sensing something amiss, they each drew a wand but had no time to cast anything as a white flame overcame them just as before, and their robes dropped to the floor covered in ash. This time however their cries alerted others to the scene and Vincent was kept busy. He took a quick glance inside to find Roy chained to the wall with many bloody gashes across his chest. "Get him out." he commanded, too busy. 

Tyrendil took one of her knives and, casting a spell enchanted it with a purplish hue before fiddling with the lock. A crack was heard, and with the lock broken the door easily swung aside. Roy did not immediately look up as she quickly unlocked his braces. A part of the outer wall suddenly exploded with a burst of white magic and a dead UmNaru came to rest in its place. This woke Roy up, and he recognized who was freeing him. "What? Why you freeing me?" he asked.

“We're getting out of here!” Vincent called back, dodging a spell. Roy stood on his legs but was otherwise clearly in pain from the immense amount of lashing he had received, with dried blood covering much of his chest. He was in no position to fight and Vincent realized that he going to have to defend them both. But with a squadron of UmNaru coming down the hallway, it became clear that he was going to have to try his idea from earlier if they were going to make it. 

“After I do this, we run!” Vincent said as he charged up his wand with white magic. Several UmNaru disappeared in the distance, cloaking themselves as those behind them conjured up a pair of spells; it was a typical UmNaru attack pattern. The tip of Vincent's wand shined bright, and with a bolt of white magic flowing through the walls at that moment, he gave a cry and plunged his wand directly into it with a shove. Immediately the entire complex shook and the white magic coalesced and spread outward in all directions, eventually cracking the walls and the ceiling above them. Chunks of stone fell onto the floor and the UmNaru fell back from their initial attack, instead deciding to flee. 

“Run!” Vincent cried and Tee took the lead as they chased after their former aggressors down the hall before turning another corner. It seemed the entire place was slowly falling apart with sections of wall collapsing around them. Many UmNaru were trying to chase them towards the exit, but were instead caught in the falling debris that surrounded them. Despite their advantage, Roy had a hard time keeping up with them; every step the Koopaling took was a ripple of pain that shot through his body. Vincent fell back and tried to protect his dad from incoming UmNaru attacks from behind. A small UmNaru envoy suddenly appeared in front of them, but Tee was quick on the offensive and with a wave of her hand, several knives in the purple spectrum appeared around them and proceeded to stab and cut through their bodies until their bloody pieces fell to the ground. 

“The gate is ahead.” Tee said without looking back. As they passed through the exiting arch of the room, Vincent looked behind him and saw a very large contingent of UmNaru making their way towards them, many of them paired with creatures he had never seen before. Entering a narrow hall, a pair of creatures suddenly leaped from the ceiling and attempted to land on Vincent, but he dodged and sent a white shockwave through the floor which sheered off most of their flesh, killing them. 

“Iggy! We need help!” Vincent telepathically pleaded.

* * *

“I want to go help him!” Elizabeth pleaded.

“No, no and no!” Kylie insisted. “You could get killed in these kinds of things. You would wind up like your dad or worse.”

“But Vincent's out there fighting them by himself!” Elizabeth reasoned. “Why can't we do that?”

“Because Vincent's not like you guys...” Kylie trailed off.

“So?” Similar shouts went up and Kylie shook her head. She was sick and tired of seeing them getting hurt when they could easily avoid it altogether. 

"There is a line of UmNaru filing out of the crags." said Iggy who was present with them. "They are going after Lemmy's Castle as a diversion."

"Oh you're kidding..." Kylie muttered.

"I'm sending a batch of Amura to defend this place." Iggy continued.

"I want the high rollers by Roy and Vincent." came Larry's voice. "This needs to be nipped in the bud or they'll keep coming, even after they destroy the fortress we hit."

"What?!" Kylie exclaimed. "Are you--"

"That's that." Tommy said as he walked out of the room.

"Hey, wait!"

"I shall go with them." Ludwig suddenly announced. "As this is my opportunity to exact revenge from their countless horrors done upon the family, along with the world at large."

"Anyone not an Amura will have a hard time with them." Iggy exclaimed. "Your skill alone may help you live, but they will always be a notch above you."

"Do you think that my person has been idle since my supposed incapacitation?" Ludwig asked. "A foolish assumption. Undoubtedly their skill is great, however it is my belief after my intense studies that they have a few...holes within their defense. These may be exploited with or without the power of the Amura, though their presence would be helpful."

Iggy saw what his brother was planning. "That hasn't been proven on the field yet." he replied. 

"Unsurprising, however the experiment must be carried out in some fashion." said Ludwig. "And with the lack of the...old world's supply of laboratory equipment, more crude measures must be taken."

Iggy sighed. "I'm not going to stop you from trying, but please try to cooperate with the main group."

"And I shall." Ludwig responded.

"Why are you letting them go die?" Kylie said in disbelief.

"You must forget that we Koopalings were from the age of 2 forced to train and fight our enemies." said Ludwig. "Such is the case to all those born in the royal family as my siblings may attest to, which is why I did not object to our children's training within Erzembar. Our generation has been considerably lucky as all of us survived into adulthood, but the same can not be said of Bowser's generation. Many of his siblings were killed in adolescence."

"That's barbaric." Kylie muttered.

"This practice is done to ensure that that strongest survive, and the best genetics are passed to the next generation." Ludwig explained. "But I digress. I shall protect them against the UmNaru threat as long as they are willing to fight said threat."

Kylie was silent for a moment, aware that everyone was against her, even her supposed husband. "Listen to me." she started. "If anything happens to any of them, then you're a dead Koopa. I'm not kidding, I will kill you. I am sick and tired of seeing my kids being played like chess pieces..." She rambled on, and it was becoming clear to even Ludwig that his wife was undergoing issues with dementia of some form. After the shift, she seemed excessively afraid of everything around her, especially around Amy's death. 

"Your concern is well understood." Ludwig began, "being the mother, your protection is paramount in comparison to our petty selfish motives."

"I think you forget about the souls that inhabit them." Iggy interrupted. "And why we are born in the first place. They are sacrificial by nature and willing to help their fellow Koopa out no matter what the cost is to them. To a service to others soul, the other is more important than they. That's what being of service means, to think of others at least half of the time, to be of service to others at least half of the time or more. They want to go out there not because they hate their lives, but they want to help make a safer future for everyone else and they don't care how much that will cost them. I think you need to understand this."

Kylie fell silent and looked at her kids with thought. It seemed Iggy's speech finally broke through her fearful madness. 

At length, she shook her head. "I told you I'm not cut out for this job. If I knew, that this was going to happen, then I wouldn't have had--"

Ludwig patted her shoulder. "Not in front of the kids." he quietly said. Kylie hunched over and shook her head again. She reached for something inside of her shell. Grabbing it, she tossed her Earth Wand onto the floor. "I don't want it." she muttered and said nothing else. Upon hearing that, Larry warped into the room next to Iggy. This was bad timing. "I'm not going to stop you." said Larry. "But I would rethink it over."

"No." She sat looking at the ground. Larry and Iggy looked at each other. "This sucks." Iggy muttered.

"We both saw it coming." said Larry. "It's the timing of it that sucks. We're about to go into a battle that will decide a lot of things and this happens."

"There is the replacement the Kappur talked about." Iggy mentioned.

"Her spiritual maturity isn't the problem." said Larry. "It's her lack of experience, real world experience. She's too young to know how the politics work, how to deal with major kingdom wide issues, the strategy because she hasn't been here for that long yet. I'm not saying she's not my pick because she is, but we're also right before a fight and you can't just get used to one of the three wands in less than an hour. They would probably take the wand from her which is why Roy gave it up in the first place. Giving her the wand and then her losing it would make us hypocrites."

"Yeah, you're right." Iggy sighed. 

"We need to get Lemmy in here." Larry said.

"He's outside." Iggy stated. "But should be in here in 3, 2, 1..." A flash and Lemmy appeared with a small dance. "Hey guys! Whats...up...?" he fell short after seeing Kylie downtrodden.

"It appears Kylie no longer desires to be the Queen of the Earth." Ludwig stated. "If I were to guess the next order of events, then the polarities of the Earth Wand must be reunited, hence the monarchs requested your presence."

"That's exactly it, actually." Larry said.

Lemmy frowned for a moment, then smiled again. "Don't worry about it Kylie. You should help us the way you want to help us." Kylie sniffed but did nothing else. 

"Penny would rather see her stay put, but it looks like she made up her mind already." Iggy mentioned.

"Mona says the wand is too much for her mind right now." said Larry. "And I agree with her. For now, I think it's best to reunite the polarities and leave it as one wand until we can find a new queen sometime after the battle." With no objections, Larry took the Blood Wand and fired it at the negative Earth Wand on the floor. The wand glowed until it seemingly dematerialized and merged with Lemmy's wand, which then transfixed itself back into its old familiar shape. Kylie horns “ungrew” until they shrunk back inside of her head and her height shortened somewhat, but the process was less gruesome than before, albeit with some restraint that Larry learned about from the spirits of Genlic.

"Now it's really dad's wand." Lemmy said, looking at the unified wand. “But yeah. Just know I don't think any less of you Kylie. If you don't want to do a job, then that's okay with me.”

“I do believe this is about our children forcing themselves upon the enemy.” said Ludwig. “And Kylie's disapproval of such a practice, despite the traditional upbringing and their own willingness to undertake such tasks.”

“I went over how the new souls coming in now are different and more inclined to take action to help others rather than just help themselves.” said Iggy.

“Yeah, that is what it is.” Lemmy said, turning to the children. “It looks like you guys want to go against the UmNaru coming at us now, huh?”

“Tommy's already getting ready.” Elizabeth said. “But...” She looked at her mom who now had a defeated look on her face. A part of Elizabeth wanted to help calm her mother down, but her gut told her to leave them alone for now. She turned around. "Okay, let's go."

"There's a squadron heading down on one of the paths in the southern crags." said Iggy. "I would join you guys, but they're trying to lure Larry and myself out there to try and destroy us, so due to those politics we're better off not being out there right now since one of us dying would be far worse."

"Fine." Elizabeth muttered.

"I will teleport you guys close to where Roy and Vincent are." Iggy said. "And Ashley should be there too. Good luck guys." With that, the Amura including Ludwig disappeared in a flash and reappeared in a dark landscape surrounded by black rock and magma. They were in a carved out path with steep cliffs on either side and Ludwig already worried about being ambushed. His recent practice with newer magic however made him feel more confident in his abilities.

Moments later the sounds of screaming and explosions were heard not far in the distance. Ludwig pushed forward followed by the other Amura and around a bend they came across a battle between Vincent and a hoard of UmNaru trying to defeat him. Alongside was Roy who looked in terrible shape, to Ludwig a victim of torture. Another girl was with them, one that Ludwig could not identify. Upon seeing the Amura force arriving, she turned to Vincent.

“I already know.” Tee said. “You must fight for the other side. Go...don't worry about me.” She suddenly disappeared from reality in the blink of an eye, but a moment later and Vincent felt a kiss on his lips. He grabbed her invisible self and forced her away. “Stay by your word. Go.” he commanded, and he heard her footsteps jump up above them until they were inaudible. Ludwig scratched his chin and wondered how the youth pulled that off, but then again, he was an UmNaru and not to be trusted.

“Trent, please tend to Roy's wounds immediately.” Ludwig commanded, and he signaled to his younger brother to get his attention. Roy hobbled over to the group as Ludwig pulled out his wand. “Draw weapons and--”

An explosion nearby cut him off, sending a rain of debris in his direction. The children took out their wands and began firing blasts at the incoming waves, sending some of the enemy off of their feet. Ashley deployed a protective radial spell that surrounded their group in white light and protected them from incoming magic attacks. Ludwig cast a blue spell (his favorite spectrum) upon the majority in front of him and dozens were sent flying backwards, with some even passing over the northern cliff face. They were too easy so far.

Pushing forward, the northern wall dropped until the view of a volcano dominated the sky above them, with rivers of lava running down its banks. In the distance, across a lake of lava was a large castle built into the side of the volcano. To Ashley, it was the place uncle Iggy was talking about earlier. From its gates came multitudes of people, but not all seemed to head toward them. Indeed, most seemed to be fleeing in a number of directions. One of these directions, Ludwig thought was probably the attack force headed towards Lemmy's Castle.

“That castle must be destroyed.” said Ludwig. 

“They're going to destroy it themselves soon.” Vincent replied.

“It would be more effective if the castle is demolished with as many UmNaru inside the complex as possible.” Ludwig clarified. “Therefore, a method of remote destruction must be deduced.”

“Earth spells would be really good for this.” Tommy pointed out. “Or fire spells.”

“Yeah, use the volcano and flow them over with lava.” said Elizabeth. “That's the easiest way I think.”

“This will require an individual well suited in fire magic.” said Ludwig. “As this is not an ordinary task. If your grandfather were alive, then this would be a simple matter. However, such a master fire user has passed and we must make with what he have. I do believe your magical prime Tommy is fire, is it not?” He spoke of the natural skill set one was born with in a certain magical spectrum. 

“It is...” Tommy muttered. “I don't think it's that good though. Well, not good enough to control lava.”

“Wouldn't that take sometime skilled in both Earth and fire like you said?” Ashley asked. “Since that's what lava is, right? Who's strong with Earth magic?”

“Earth magic would certainly expedite the process.” Ludwig said. “I do believe that your uncle Roy has some skill in regard to this.” He looked over for a moment to see Roy being healed by Trent with a white aura, then turned around again to see more foes arriving on the scene. “It would depend upon his condition, however. Regardless, it will take more than one person to achieve such a task.”

“It would appear that all of the belligerents have come together in one spot.” came a voice. Ahead of them on the path stood a tall UmNaru in a black cloak, surrounded by dark hooded figures with glowing hands. His skin seemed scarred as if burnt in the past. “Good. This will be quick work. Sentinels, capture Vincent and reprocess him. Kill the rest.”

“And he's probably the bad guy.” Elizabeth muttered. The Sentinels moved in quickly, unleashing a variety of black magic spells upon the group who defended themselves in short order. A pair of UmNaru wielding mind magic of the purple spectrum in their hands cast a spell on Vincent who suddenly felt weak and nearly fell over at their attack. His mind drifted into a dark place and he did not know the white spell equivalent for ridding himself of such a darkness. “Can't...stay...up...” he muttered.

After incinerating one UmNaru, Tommy noticed Vincent behaving strangely and quickly put the pieces together. With the others busy, Tommy tried shooting them with fireballs but invisible barriers around them disintegrated the spells. One UmNaru moved in on him but Tommy had the greater agility. He sidestepped him and set him aflame with relative ease, but more were coming in. In the distance he could see the bad guy ordering more in his direction, while noticing a purple aura around one of his hands. Elizabeth soon took hint of the situation. “I'll distract them while you get that bad guy.” she suggested.

“I shall go alongside you.” Ludwig said to Tommy. “As he is far more powerful than yourself and one of the puppetmasters of this war. Such persons must never be underestimated.” 

Elizabeth, using her limited knowledge of green magic cast a spell at the UmNaru next to Vincent and several large piranha plants came out of the ground and bit the UmNaru in place, breaking their hold over Vincent. The confused youth was dazed for a moment but caught sight of Tommy running towards Narec a short distance away, followed closely by Ludwig who was casting a spell in the blue spectrum. Narec merely held out a hand, intending to stop the youth in place through mind control. Tommy staggered for a moment but held out his hand in turn, the white magic of Amura letting him break the elder's hold on him and press forward. Snorting, Narec's hand suddenly changed color and Tommy felt his weight being driven backwards into the air as he was hit with a wind spell that sent him over a cliff face and tumbling down towards the pool of lava below. He managed to grab hold of a rocky outcrop and break his fall, and teetered along the edge as he struggled to find a way back up. 

Narec sneered. “It would seem that the victor is--” he was cut off as he was suddenly sent backwards into the air and was smacked against a rock cliff in the distance before falling to the ground. 

“Only fools boast of their victory before the battle is concluded.” Ludwig said. “It is no wonder the UmNaru has tolerated your presence for so long.”

Narec growled and with a leap soared through the air back to his former position, albeit more bruised than before. To Ludwig, it seemed that his enemy's magical prime was the same as his: wind magic. This would not be an easy fight.

“It would seem the same arrogance makes its face here as well.” said Narec. “But unlike my uncle, I have all the resources to tame a beast such as you. You are now nothing, dethroned by that weakling of a Blood King who still refuses to show his face. Self pride, classic example of dethronement. But the process was never finished, and I will speed that along now.” With that, the winds suddenly picked up around them and Ludwig found himself inside the middle of a Tornado, but being a blue magic user, was unaffected. What worried him more was how he was going to defeat this menace. It was going to take several disciplines at once and he knew that trying his idea from earlier would be most unwise, given that his opponent was also a blue magic user. With that, he rushed forward with his wand and the two began to battle.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth had caught sight of her brother being thrown through the air and over a cliff. “Oh god. Tommy!” she screamed, but she was held up by the advance force that kept her at bay. They were beginning to wear her down. “I need help!” she shouted. 

“I'll get Tommy.” said Vincent. “They're after me anyway, so that should lessen your load.”

“Well hurry!” Elizabeth said, choking one with vines coming out of the ground. Vincent looked towards his father, who was still healing via Trent, though he looked better than previously. “The girls need help.” he said to him.

“So? Why don't you help them?” Roy asked.

“Because Tommy fell off a cliff and I need to get him.” he said. “I need to break their ranks anyway.” Roy grunted, and struggled to get up. Trent, now understanding his work was done, made his way to Elizabeth to support her while Vincent jumped up on top of the rock face above him and looked down. Far below, he saw Tommy attempting to crawl up the cliff face without much success. A few UmNaru attempted to scale the cliff behind Vincent, but the youth fired a black magic spell, Discarnate Dead that killed the two and instantly sent their appendages in multiple directions. It was similar to what he had used in the Valley of the Koopas.

“Tommy!” Vincent cried, and jumped down onto a ledge below close to Tommy. He reached with his hand and after some hesitation, Tommy reached up and their claws met, and Vincent pulled him straight up until Tommy landed next to him with a thud.

“Thanks...” Tommy said, breathing. “I didn't think Narec would even show up to this.”

“How do you know who he is?” Vincent immediately questioned him. 

Tommy laughed. “I saw a lot of things that uncle Larry didn't want me to see. Well, too late. He did the same thing my age so it all comes around to him, so he says. I'd tell you, but there's no time. Our parents world was completely messed up.” He got up and looked at the cliff above him.

“This one isn't?” Vincent asked.

“Oh no, it is.” Tommy reassured him. “But the games they played and all their politics was just stupid. I'll have to tell you later because we need to get back over this cliff.”

Vincent nodded. “I know some basic wind...” He quickly cast the spell he used on himself moments earlier and Tommy was sent shooting upwards and back over the cliff face. Vincent follow suit right behind him, and upon landing at the top he found that most of the UmNaru had already been defeated with bodies littering the ground all around them. No new sentinels seemed to come out of the fortress, but Ludwig and Narec were engaged in an intense duel and Vincent noticed their group trying to figure out what to do next. Tommy was already down on the ground and talking to Elizabeth. 

“We got what we came here for.” said Tommy. “We just need to leave.”

“But what about that castle?” Elizabeth asked. UmNaru were still pouring out of it. Apparently it was one of their larger fortifications.

Vincent jumped down from the cliff face. “Vincent said they're going to blow it up themselves.” said Tommy.

“Heard the same.” Roy admitted. “They'd do that if found out. I say leave it. They're visible now. Can come back later if they don't do it.”

Vincent nodded, agreeing. But the problem still lay before them and their duel didn't seem to end. Suddenly, a force above Ludwig slammed him to the ground with tremendous force that cracked the rock all around him. He did not move afterwords. Narec grinned and Tommy already started, not accepting the result. “I'm going to kill him!”

“Hey, wait up!” Vincent called, running after him. 

“Guys, no!” Elizabeth shouted, fearing the worst. 

Ashley shook her head. “They're guys, let them go.” she muttered. “We'll cover them from here I guess.”

Elizabeth sighed. “You would think Tommy would get a clue.” They cast a white protection spell on them. Roy however knew the kids couldn't do it alone, and so getting up he followed them with a plan.

Narec began to cast a paralysis spell, hoping to deal with them all at once. But Vincent then walked into shadows and Narec was forced to draw his own wand. The girls in the background were casting protection spells on the incoming Koopalings, which would lessen his spells effect. He cast his paralysis spell on Tommy while conjuring another spell for the other two. Tommy's movement slowed but otherwise continued. Roy suddenly disappeared from Narec's sight and now realizing their intent, changed spells mid cast but it was too late. He sidestepped Vincent's magic attack, seeing it from a distance but was instead body slammed by an invisible Roy which sent him careening through the air again and he slammed against a rock wall before slumping to the ground.

Tommy had slowed to a crawl and Elizabeth ran up to try and heal him. But no one noticed the appearance of a figure on the cliffs above them. "It's time to put this petty fight to an end." he said. 

Roy knew who it is."Get back!" he said to the others. Vincent reluctantly obeyed while Elizabeth tried to help her brother to his feet, with Ashley and Trent coming to help. But The Vice's hands glowed pitch black, and with a twirl of blue he launched the concoction of magic at them. They were all helplessly launched into the air and thrown backwards down the path they came, feeling their life-force being sucked from them. Vincent was given special attention and he soared above the cliff wall and was sent plunging toward a lava flow dozens of feet below. But a short outburst of blue magic diverted his direction moments before impact, and Vincent instead landed mere feet from the lava flow instead and he went black.

Indeed, they were all unconscious and Iggy was dismayed, wondering what to do now. The Vice was simply too powerful, even for him. Vincent woke first with pain throughout his body, but his limbs were intact and not broken. Trent woke next and looked at the devastation around him. Everyone was unconscious and next to the cliff face he saw his brother Tommy with a large chest wound, and his blood was quickly spilling onto the ground. Ludwig did not look much better with multiple injuries. The rest did not get up and Iggy knew he had to do something. Tommy was quickly dying. Aside from himself, there was only one other person who could counter The Vice and that was a risky move.

Vincent slowly crawled up the cliff, his bruised legs managing to maintain his balance. Reaching the top, he slowly peered over the edge to find his cousins lying sprawled across the ground in various states of injury. Across from him on an opposite cliff was The Vice with his back now turned. He didn't seem to notice the youth.

"Vincent." said a voice inside his head. It was Trent's. "Tommy wants to talk to you. He is hurt...bad." That's when he finally noticed Tommy's state.

"Shhh--" Vincent hissed and immediately hid, fearing being spotted. But after peeking again, it seemed The Vice didn't notice, too busy talking to someone out of sight.

“Vincent, Trent.” came another voice, this time Iggy's. “We need to teleport you guys out of there ASAP. This guy is beyond any of us, including me. We can't just cast it though, he will cut off the spell mid cast so I need to distract him. You know how to teleport Trent, so teleport everyone out one by one to the med bay at Erzembar. You know where that is. Start with Tommy.”

As Iggy talked, Vincent had quietly slipped down from the cliff top and crept over towards Tommy. His entire chest was covered in blood along with the ground around him. Vincent reached down to cast a healing spell, but Tommy suddenly grabbed his wrist. “You...” he muttered, blood in his throat. “You're...gonna need this...” He reached into his pocket and handed Vincent a device wrapped in what felt like a rough cloth.

“What--”

“It's got everything. Dad can't know...” Tommy glanced at Ludwig who was lying unconscious next to him. The Vice had noticed them however. “Hmph.” He readied another spell, but was stopped suddenly by a stream of white that came from the dark volcanic sky. “It's too late for that, Spirit King!” The Vice boasted, blocking the attack easily. 

Sensing doom coming upon him, Tommy ripped off something around his neck. “Here are your answers.” he said, handing Vincent some kind of media card on a small chain. “Go to my dad's castle. It's all in there, in the core. The core...” Tommy struggled to get up, but Trent backed him down. He pointed to his wand and began to cast a teleport spell.

“I did not say you could leave.” The Vice said, and then he suddenly channeled Iggy's attack through himself and unleashed a stream of fire at all three of them. Trent attempted to shield Tommy but there was simply not enough time. Trent and Vincent were blasted to the ground with Vincent's hastily cast shields taking the brunt of the damage. But Tommy became engulfed in flames from Iggy's own spell.

“Son of a bitch!” Iggy threw the Spirit Wand across the room in anger. “Fucking asshole.” His own spell was used against him and now Tommy was incinerated. He could not reincarnate him now that his body was reduced to ash, let alone getting through the black magic shroud that covered the whole area. “He will die.” Iggy told himself. “Oh he will die. I will take him and Koopa himself and put them to the white flame. You hear me? You will die before I do and I will make sure of it!”

Iggy was now too angry to take stock of the current situation. Vincent stared at Tommy's ashes in mild shock and was reminded of the day he was forced to watch his siblings burn in flames. He could do nothing then, but what about now? He could stand against Narec but this guy...and what about everyone else? They were still knocked out cold and needed to be teleported. But there was no way to get them all out of there at once without being attacked again, and after that last one...

“Vincent.” Trent's voice came again. “Go. Get out of here.”

“But you can't fight him--”

“Go.” he repeated. “It is the only way you will live. I have this.” Trent was seen walking towards the Vice with an angry look on his face. Vincent shook his head at the apparent martyrdom, but there was little he could do as the Vice was also now aware of his awakening. Thinking quickly, Vincent jumped up and cast a healing spell on his unconscious father in hopes to wake him up before being forced to dodge an explosive attack, leaping over the cliff and down the other side from where he came.

The Vice turned to Trent who stared at him with anger. “Your pleas for mercy are worthless.” he said. “As this day has already been decided upon.”

Iggy snapped out of his anger upon hearing that. “Huh? Trent?” This was all the doing of Koopa, wasn't it?

Trent could not say anything, but eyed his wrist monitor which showed him in the upper yellow zone with increased heart pulse and blood pressure. It was good enough. There was no other way they were going to live.

The Vice unleashed a powerful black spell intended to choke the life out of the youth. To his surprise, the spell slowed in motion as it approached Trent until it stopped completely in mid air. Moving his hands, Trent manipulated the spell into a spinning sphere, then launched it at a high velocity back at The Vice. But he merely smacked the orb away from him and the spell exploded in the air seconds later. Deciding to erase the youth from reality altogether, The Vice conjured up a high level black magic spell in the form of a large black wall that rapidly approached Trent, but the wall came to a ceasing halt as Trent manipulated it sending white magic into its core. The two struggled to maintain control of the spell, but this only served to fuel Trent's anger. With only sheer will power, Trent took the magical remnants within Tommy's ash and fused it with his own magic. Upon doing so the ground around them began to rumble and cracks began to form in the rock. Vincent, still hoping he could save a few more people, noticed the lava flow suddenly running backwards, back up the slope and into the mountain. What kind of magic was this? The rumbling woke up Roy who immediately furrowed his brows at the sight. 

“Trent, this might kill you!” came a voice. It sounded like Iggy.

“I...don't...care.” Trent thought, ignoring his beeping wrist band. He thrust his free hand towards the fortress in the distance. A moment later and the rock surrounding it suddenly imploded and the entire structure began to fall apart as bricks loosened and fell upon those hapless UmNaru below. Towers imploded and soon the entire complex was seen collapsing upon itself with a large rock slide flowing behind it. The entire volcano was suffering landslides and rock was seen tumbling everywhere. Vincent peeked over and cast a healing spell on the girls before the shaking forced him back down again.

The Vice, wanting to end this cast a mirror spell and soon the same spell appeared all around Trent. But Trent was unfazed, knowing full well of the dark side's trickery, but he too needed to end this fight soon or be killed. Given the enormous pressure being brought upon him now, he could think of only one thing to do.

With little notice, the ground under them suddenly cracked open and a huge surge of lava burst forth high into the air, making The Vice lose some of his concentration. The mirror spell failed, and Trent with his remaining strength infused the wall with a white Darkness Cleanse spell before pushing the whole spell complex towards the lava flow. The lava reacted by shifting direction and hosed itself towards the Vice who was then forced to flee and hide behind a rock wall as the lava and the spell blasted him inches away. Turning around, The Vice saw the crack had grown wider with the ground falling into a fiery abyss below. The whole volcano was erupting, and a pyroclastic plume was seen rising from the top of the cone. The Vice noticed that it suddenly plunged downwards towards them at rapid speeds as if controlled. This was not the magic of the world. 

“Narec.” The Vice said. “Order a retreat to the next one.”

Narec who had watched the battle injured looked surprised. “You run from the enemy that is lesser than us?” he asked. “This plume can be stopped.”

“This one wields the magic of the Naru.” The Vice explained. “As stated in the founder's protocol, we must yield before the magic of our fathers. How it was obtained is uncertain, but Naru or not, this will turn into attrition and is something you are not prepared against. Now retreat!”

“As you say.” Narec responded and limped away to the survivors of the castle's destruction. The Vice took a moment to look at the immense fountain of lava again, now shooting straight into the air before turning and leaving the area.

Vincent could only shake his head as an immense pyroclastic flow shot down from the mountain and headed straight towards him. Not sure what was happening beyond the cliff, a part of him wanted to try and save as many as he could, but he didn't know how to teleport. His thinking was cut off as a landslide approached him as well and he was forced to run. Knowing it was going to outrun him, Vincent cast a wind spell and jumped up into the air as the gravity around himself lowered significantly. The rocks tumbled harmlessly below him, but he was now falling off the face of the volcano and the pyroclastic flow was catching up. Taking a risk, he canceled his wind spell and tumbled through the air until he was out of sight.

Roy wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not, but as far as he knew, this was better than what his dad could have done, if only by a small margin. But his thoughts ended when the pyroclastic flow suddenly hit him and he winced, then felt surprised as he still seemed to be in one piece. Indeed, he was surrounded by a white radial that circled the fallen group. It emanated from Trent's wand, whose owner now lay face down on the ground with the lava flow still bursting upwards in front of him.

“...Trent? Trent!” Elizabeth awoke and started towards him, wondering what had happened. Roy got up and shook Ashley's shoulder and she seemed to stir to consciousness. Nodding, Roy then turned to his brother Ludwig and shook his. He stirred but did not respond. He was still alive, at least. “Iggy, where the hell are you?” Roy said aloud.

“Trent!” Elizabeth reached her brother and shook him, but he did not respond. She grabbed his wrist but went into a state of shock when she saw nothing but a pulsating red light.


	54. The Future Must Be Met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young puppet master flirts with fate.  
> Spirits entwine with reconciliation, before their lessons press them onward.  
> A former king decides to turn the tables of fortune.  
> The instigator begins to carve a new path for the world to follow.

The open ocean was now covered in hundreds of houseboats, some powered by left over solar technology from the previous era, others powered by propellers upon their roofs and others manually propelled by bicycle pedals and similar devices. Some talked with each other, others were in a hurry to reach one of the dozens of islands that now made up the area surrounding the Eternal Fortress Genlic. With the council deciding to expand themselves, most have taken the opportunity to create new lives for themselves and start their own households and plantations. Maynard Koopa himself was already eager to build a place of his own after being cooped up on "Genlic Island" for too long, tagging along with a party with Kooper. 

Larry Koopa watched the numerous houseboats from the comfort of his bedroom in thought. Considering the amount of work allotted to him since becoming the Blood King, he felt he was doing an adequate job, albeit not without fault. It was impossible to be perfect unless one had the ego of Bowser, but his hesitation with the UmNaru was catching up to him, so he felt. He needed to put his foot on this, with or without Iggy's help. The evacuation of Genlic was more than halfway complete for a battle that Larry foresaw as inevitable in the future. When that happened, he didn't want Mona or any of their children in the area. They needed to get on their island before that happened, especially since their newborns were still vulnerable.

Still indecisive, Larry decided to do something he hadn't done in a long time. With the Blood Wand, he teleported into a room containing a large black sphere suspended from the ceiling over a smaller one underneath. A moment later and the larger sphere swirled with a number of faces.

"Greetings, Blood King." one of the past kings communicated.

"It has been sometime since we last spoke." said a past Blood Queen.

"We have been watching your progress and assume you require advice." said another.

"Yeah..." Larry admitted, not liking to ask for help. "I need advice. This is not easy, the whole thing with the...UmNaru." He paused. "You probably know what I mean. I had to figure it out myself."

There was a silence until an elderly King was portrayed with a long skinny beard. "What can one Koopa do against such reckless ambition?" he asked. It was a clever and loaded answer. Larry wasn't going to fix this problem by himself, regardless of his wishes. 

But she was already in the room a moment later, wondering where his thoughts were going. "I already took care of Geo." she said. "But what's this all about?"

"The powers of evil do not enjoy your presence." said one Blood Queen. "To have a human take up the Blood is unheard of."

"This is but one ambition." said another.

"They seek to supplant your rule by making your responsibilities worthless." said one.

"This will ensure the chaos to lend control to themselves." said another.

"Then, death."

"Your opposition is a dark path, Blood King. This will not be tolerated."

Larry wrinkled his face. "We are equals here. None of us are above the other, except maybe arrogance."

"The UmNaru do not hear such arguments." said one. 

"Many of you served under the UmNaru." said Larry. "So it's no surprise you favor them. What about those who know better? Why aren't you speaking? What are you afraid of?"

"The puppets speak for the puppetmaster." said the old Blood King. "Their voice is his."

"So maybe he's fighting with himself." Mona stated, talking about Larry. 

"Puppets are not progeny." Larry stated. "They are playthings, an extension of yourself, something you want to be but too cowardly to do it yourself."

"Touchy words, but the master of our race is not keen to listen to them." one Blood King said.

"Speaking against our elder is unwise." said another.

"Your children are not your playthings." Mona said. "That's true if you're the head honcho or not. If he has to control everyone he sees, then he must really be afraid of something."

"I came here to find advice for the UmNaru, not to be schooled on why I shouldn't touch them." said Larry. "This paradigm of Marthos and Telxin family lines doesn't work in a world like this when everybody will know what you're doing. The negative can't survive in a world like this. Controlling a whole race, let alone your whole family with the negative is not how this family will move forward, let alone the world."

"Then it seems your time is running out, Blood King." a king said to him.

"The irony is that I have control over Koopa, being head of the family." Larry pointed out. "So despite his wishes to control me, he really doesn't. But he cannot get rid of me either without messing things up out there, so he won't. Why would someone like him want his descendants to suffer than see them prosper? Who is he really working for?"

There was a rumble under his feet and a red glow flowed through the floor. "I work for myself." came a booming voice. "You are a part of me. And we all work for ourselves. But they don't know they work for me. All comes to this one truth. Every representation is from this one source."

"Thoughts have thoughts." Larry said. "All have a source, and all seek the source of eternity. But that is not just one person. We are god, and god lives through us. We are gods only of our personal universe, not all of matter around us."

"Do not argue philosophy with me, oh thought of mine." said the voice. 

Something snapped in Larry's mind then. Maybe it was his previous complacency with the UmNaru, but he realized that he could no longer idly stand by and let them do as they pleased, especially Koopa. Maybe it was because of his previous experience being trapped inside a black entrapment spell that caused him to automatically disengage himself with the problem. Yes, that was probably it. But he was an Amura now and he knew a few tricks up his sleeve for dealing with situations like this. For once, he had gained an interest in magic.

With Larry's lack of a response, the redness began to crawl throughout the upper walls of Genlic, but Larry suddenly thrust his Blood Wand to the floor and the mark of Amura channeled its magic through it, sending down a white radiance that cascaded from above.

"Unwise, mortal." the voice echoed. But white lightnings cascaded about the sky above the fortress and the sharp spires glowed with electrical energy before all at once the white magic shot down through the complex and hit the redness head on.

"By your logic, you are hurting yourself." Larry mused. "Maybe you should learn to love yourself better." The redness crumbled downward, unable to hold itself against the onslaught until it disappeared altogether. The whiteness disappeared with a shockwave in turn. There was silence afterwards. Mona leaned onto his shoulder. "So that's why you're booting us out of here?"

"Yeah basically." Larry replied.

"That was a great disrespect to the founder of our race." said a Blood Queen.

"Silence! You do not know of the old days." said an elderly King. "Before the times when he made his reality yours, wars were waged over what we all just witnessed. In the end, his victory was so great that one's reality was administered to them, and they knew naught else. Your reality was given to you and originality and free thought condemned. Let those who are self aware of the reality of the universe speak." This sparked a round of protests from many of the monarchs.

"Actually, I agree." said Larry. "I've been getting more negative this and negative that than anything else. Do you listen to yourself when you speak? Would you say this to yourself? If not, then keep quiet. We need some real advice. He needs to be defeated, but he's probably still listening to us."

“Old Erzembar wont hear any of it.” said the elderly king.

“That's right...” Larry thought. The AI wanted to see his old koop again. That would be a problem if he found out about his plans, considering Erzembar's capabilities. He needed to tell Iggy, but Larry had a gut feeling that speaking about or doing anything to Erzembar now would preempt a move from Koopa. He had an idea. There were ways of telling Iggy without thinking about it.

"I'll send him a message." said Larry. "And I'll have one of them deliver it."

"One of them?" Mona asked, but Larry wrote it in the air suggesting a written note. "Ohhhh, I know who could do that."

"Have them give it to the prodigy." Larry replied. "They'll know what to do with it. But for now, I think it's time to evacuate all the non-essentials to the islands. I'll leave it to you since this is really my fight."

Mona huffed. "All of the islands...what about us?"

"Maynard picked one out already." said Larry. "We could use his. I don't think you want to fight--"

"A guy that big? Hell no." Mona muttered, reading his thoughts. "The floor is yours."

"Well, I need to coordinate with the others before we do anything to this guy.” said Larry. “But we should get our stuff out of here too.”

"I'll get some of our plants in those containers and ship them." said Mona. "And a few seeds too."

"Maynard can take care of planting them." Larry said. "He needs to learn more about that anyways. When the evacuation is done here, except for you know who, then I'll try to visit...but this guy needs to go before my family can know what peace feels like. The new kingdom depends on it."

"Just don't forget to stop in." said Mona. "You can't work forever. And the kids won't be happy with you gone all the time."

"Stop worrying." said Larry. "I'll be fine."

Mona laughed, and gave him a quick kiss. "Then I'll see you." she said before walking out.

"Yeah you will." Larry replied, smiling.

* * *

He didn't know where he was; there was nothing solid about the place and yet he stood up, looking over a reality he could not contemplate previously. Places and people passed him innumerable, his sense of direction everywhere and nowhere. Some places that flashed by were recognizable and others wholly foreign: a wheel of previous experience wrapping about itself.

"Hey you!" came a voice in his head. He turned and saw an orb of light mold itself into a reptilian shape with a familiar face: Tommy. "Hey! I'm fine. It sucks what happened, but I'm fine. Everything will be alright, you'll see. I can't go back...yet. They're still talking about it. Amy got sent off to that other place."

"What place?" Trent asked telepathically.

"If you haven't made up your mind." Tommy replied, and Trent felt he knew what he meant. Tommy turned, and next to him another light morphed into what appeared to be a young octopus. It made a show of tentacles, seemingly happy to see him. Trent saw in his mind a vast planet covered in ocean and filled with creatures like her...or like him. Amy was now a male. Apparently he was garnering a good audience from speaking, telepathically, to the other octopi of her experiences on Earth.

"Well..." Trent thought as he went through the events since Amy's death in his mind. "Amy" made a movement then extended one of his tentacles to him, as if wanting a handshake.

"Ha!" Trent smiled and shook appendages with his former sister. It seemed she was enjoying her new life.

"You're not done yet." came a voice. "You must go back." Suddenly, Trent found himself being sucked backwards and the faces of his siblings were soon gone from view. Reality around him darkened until all faded to black.

* * *

The ward at Erzembar was filled with noise as Kylie Koopa wailed next to the bed of her unconscious husband, Ludwig Von Koopa. However, most of the rest of the occupants were quiet, as the children were old enough to understand what it meant when someone had passed away. Roy had been moved to another unit due to his large amount of injuries and requirement of specialized treatment. Ashley, having sustained only minor injuries was staring at the ceiling lost in thought. Her parents, Larry and Mona had already telepathically talked to her about what had occurred, an ability that she still had a hard time getting used to. Vincent had not been found with the group and she was told told he had run off before they had passed out. Elizabeth was divided between Trent and her mother next to her. Perhaps she was still in shock over Trent's death, his corpse laying on a bed in the corner of the room. Regardless, she could not find words to say, let alone to try and calm her mother down. Amongst Kylie's ramblings of how much she hated Ludwig, Iggy almost didn't hear the sound of a beep going off in the back corner of the room. Turning around, he saw Trent's wrist meter go green and display a normalizing heart rhythm.

"Hey, it worked!" Iggy said, speaking of his passive reincarnation spell. He walked over to Trent who was just regaining consciousness.

"I'm not done yet." Iggy heard in his mind. Trent opened his eyes and looked around the room. Many lay on beds like his, but most seemed to be trying to calm Kylie down, who was more than a little angry. His father Ludwig lay unconscious on the other side of the room with a bleeding head. It was almost deja vu from their struggles aboard the castle, except now Trent felt he could do something. Extending his right hand, he let the pulse that flowed through him earlier on the volcano flow through him again, albeit with a different intent. A sphere of grey light circled around Trent's hand until a beam emulated towards Ludwig head. In mere moments, the blood on his head dried and caked up, and the bleeding stopped altogether. Iggy was perplexed, wondering what kind of magic he just witnessed, but by that point nearly everyone in the room was looking at Trent. Kylie merely looked on in disbelief, all of it being too much for her.

“Trent!” Elizabeth exclaimed, trying to sit up in her bed. “You're alive.”

“Can you tell them I'm fine?” Trent asked Iggy telepathically.

“Trent says he's fine.” Iggy relayed. 

“You can talk to him?” Elizabeth asked. “That's not fair. Why can't we do that?”

“It requires a native ability in telepathy.” said Iggy. “Or you can use magic that makes it work for you. I don't have it naturally, but the Spirit Wand gives me the ability.”

“You have to give that to us when we're done here.” Elizabeth said. No one else said anything as the experience left them in part traumatized. “Because most of us don't even want to talk about what happened.” she added in. “But we're all thinking about it.”

“You already have some telepathy.” said Iggy. “It's just not fully conscious, as in, you're not fully aware of it consciously. I'm talking about conscious telepathy, where you can see the thoughts of your sister Samantha like you were just thinking about eating lunch. That's what Trent has. Vincent too, but he never talks about it.”

Seeing how downtrodden they were, Trent made a motion with his hand at Iggy and the two stood still in silence for a few moments. "Trent says he saw Tommy and Amy in heaven." Iggy said. "And they're fine. Tommy says he's fine, and Amy's now an octopus on the new planet..." Iggy felt a tap on his back. Turning around, he saw no one there. He adjusted the dimensional spectrum of the Spirit Wand and Tommy suddenly appeared in front of him, although a transparent apparition. "Hi uncle." Tommy said.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

"Tommy's here right now." Iggy said.

"What?! I can't see him!" she complained and Kylie stared on in silence, too much in shock to do anything. 

"Some people are too scared to see me." said Tommy. "I want to fix something before I go...can you give Vincent the spell "Hakon Ured Eth?" There's a lot of people that want to talk to him, and he should know the spell but doesn't. Also teach it to Trent, he has a long road ahead of him and he needs all the help he can get."

"That's early to middle Koopa..." Iggy muttered to himself.

"I want to see him!" Elizabeth complained, and he suddenly appeared to her. "...is that you?" She asked before he waved to her.

"Hrm?" Ludwig suddenly rose up, awakened by his daughters voice and looked at Tommy's spectral form. "I guessed as much..." he said to himself. Kylie did not even notice his awakening.

"I'm fine guys. Everything will be fine. I have to go now, my mission here is done. I love you all...and mom, have faith in other people's hearts. Love is all that matters..." Tommy's apparition faded to nothing.

"Bye..." Elizabeth frowned and all went silent again for some time.

"Why is my family cursed with danger and death?" Ludwig asked aloud. "Ever since reclaiming the castle, fate has turned an ugly face towards us. Twice now I have nearly passed, and twice our prodigy have done so. I do not desire to see the third of either." He sat up and swung to the side of the bed as if he hadn't been hurt at all. "This fate must be reversed. No longer will I be helpless in its motions." He turned to Iggy. "The UmNaru that my person faced possessed an ability to combine different magical spectrums into a singular entity and work as a cohesive unit."

"Magic melding." said Iggy. "I've been looking into it."

"Indeed, this is a discipline that I have never before witnessed." said Ludwig. "It is the reason for my defeat, as within our studies no such thing exists, not to mention a defense for such a skill. The opponent's primary magic discipline was the wind spectrum, this was clear. However, somehow an earth spell was cast in conjunction, which was exponentially expedited by the wind magic to the point that counter reaction was impossible. This experience shows that in order to defeat the UmNaru, we must learn this "magic melding" ability as you stated, then best them at the art. With this knowledge now obtained, it can be said that as a group, we were not sufficiently prepared for such a task."

"The only reason why you guys made it out of that is because of Trent." said Iggy. "He used his magical prime, which is a rare grey spectrum and found only upon Naru. Apparently, the UmNaru do not engage the magic of their masters."

“There are several disciplines within the so-called grey spectrum not well understood.” said Ludwig. “I was not conscious when Trent faced the enemy, so you must inform me of the specific type.”

“Time magic.” said Iggy. “Or what the ancients called Time Magic.”

“Ah yes.” Ludwig sighed. “The riddle that Bowser sought to unravel, and never did find the solution. It seems that I have inherited the problem.”

“It was an outburst of the magic, controlled by emotion.” Iggy explained. “There was little discipline behind it.”

“As was said in the Koopa militia, never expect the same surprise to work twice.” said Ludwig. “Trent's ability must be controlled and disciplined if he is to fight again.”

“I told Kylie that I'll be working on teaching him how to use magic to keep his health in check.” said Iggy.

“That would be wise.” said Ludwig. “However...”

“However...”

Ludwig inhaled. “It appears that my survival since the passing of Naru has been due to the forces behind Erzembar. This includes the Amura, which as a group I believe has some time before it can outmatch the power of the UmNaru. As such, I must ask to join, not only out of motivation to re-correct the wrongs conducted by my person, but due to a desire to research this new skill of magic melding which I believe will be one of the keys to our victory.”

“I never withdrew my invitation to you earlier, so you're free to.” said Iggy. Though he was still somewhat suspicious of his older brother, he couldn't deny the fact that he was one of the best magic users of the family.

“I appreciate your faith in my abilities.” Ludwig said, getting up.

“Be right back guys.” said Iggy as he teleported Ludwig and himself to the initiation chamber.

“Why does he have to do that?” Kylie asked aloud.

“Because he wants to pay back all the stuff he caused?” Elizabeth answered. Kylie did not reply. Soon after, a knock was heard on their door.

“Come in.” said Ashley. The door slid back and two Koopalings walked into the room. 

“Hey, we found it!” said Morton, who was as bald as his father.

“Yeah, but he was just here a minute ago.” said Iggy Jr., now sporting short green hair. “He does this all the time. Sometimes yelling his name works since he can hear everything…but he's doing something important this time.” 

“He's bringing my dad into the group.” Trent said telepathically, noting the mark on Junior's right hand. “I guess you had no choice, huh?” 

“Basically.” Junior thought. “I didn't know they were more than a fighting force though. I stick to home base, especially with this melding thing going on.”

“Maybe you'll actually work with magic this time.” Trent mused. “It's not that bad.”

“I'd rather build awesome things for the community, but if this melding thing has any practical use, then you might convince me.” said Junior.

“I hear voices...” Elizabeth thought, swearing she could hear a faint chatter of people in the room. Maybe her abilities were slowly developing. 

A flash and Iggy and Ludwig reappeared in the middle of the room. Ludwig now sported the mark of Amura in his right hand. “We're back.” said Iggy. “You have a message for me Junior?”

“Yeah.” Junior handed to Iggy a folded letter. On the outside, Iggy read the phrase “Read this when you're sleeping.” Iggy stared at the wall for a moment. “...okay.” he said after pocketing the note. "You can start as soon as you like." Iggy told Ludwig. "There's a team of researchers going through the scrolls that still exist, but we will have to rediscover most of the melding techniques on our own. We do have basic instructions so we can start with that and run our own experiments from there. For now, let's try to have some lunch brought up here, and after I'll quicken the healing again."

* * *

The earthquakes had settled down, a sign that the volcano was simmering. Vincent Koopa had been running on his feat, climbing over rocks and debris for hours and the ordeal was beginning to tire him. He was surprised that he hadn't been warped back to Erzembar with the others, knowing that his uncle knew where they all were at the same time. 

"I would warp you in, but you are being tracked." Iggy's voice said in his mind. "You're basically a danger to whomever is with you since the UmNaru will not allow you outside of their fold. Lemmy's Castle probably won't let you in either, since they voted to keep all UmNaru out recently."

Vincent stopped walking. That's where he had been heading, and he didn't want to hear that. "Then what?" he said aloud.

"Just go there, I'll talk to Lemmy." came the response. Vincent started again, but now became more precarious about his situation. With his destination probably a no go, he began to think what to do next. He had no food or water with him as he was expecting to head straight back after the battle. He only had the clothes on his back and the wand he made at Erzembar. His stomach was beginning to grumble, and with new motivation started for Lemmy's Castle again. An hour and a half passed before he made it to the back steps, and Vincent by that point wished he had learned the teleportation spell earlier. The upper overhang was lined with Koopa's of various variety, and it wasn't long before a cry was heard.

“UmNaru!” came a shout. Vincent groaned: he had been found out. “Wait...Amura? How can he be both?” asked one Magikoopa. A commotion soon erupted.

“Who is it?” one Koopa looked over the side.

“It's Vincent.” the youth replied, not happy they were able to detect his mark now.

The Koopa frowned, suspecting the problem to be beyond him. “Get Lemmy.” he ordered, and one of the Magikoopas cast a spell. A few tense moments passed before Lemmy Koopa appeared right in front of Vincent. The guards up top shook their heads. “That's too risky.” one muttered.

“Yeah...sorry.” Lemmy began, guessing Vincent already knew. “They made the vote you know, and they don't want any UmNaru around this place. Makes sense if you think about it, but there's you and I can't just give out exceptions.”

“Why not?” Vincent complained. “You're the king now, right?”

“Well, yeah. But I don't work that way.” said Lemmy. “That's how Bowser worked. He always had the word on everything and had this strict control over his minions under him. That's not how it works here. Everything's done by committee and they have votes on different things. They voted to kill the UmNaru on sight and we detect them from their marks, since they all have them. Your mark of Amura probably saved you, but yeah...I can't sneak you in my pocket or anything like that. But what I can do is this...” His hand glowed before a white flash revealed a stuffed backpack. “I can give you stuff. You got a tent and blanket in there, all the sleeping bags are gone now though. A little bit of food, and all the stuff you had in your room is in there too.” He handed him the pack. “Where are you going?” Lemmy asked.

“Don't tell anyone, but I'm going to Ludwig's Castle.” said Vincent.

“I haven't told Ludwig there's a bunch of people living there now.” Lemmy laughed. “Cause he would flip out. That's a good plan though, mix and mingle. There's a map in the pack too, well, before the shift happened. Turn it a quarter turn counter clockwise. But if you're going to the castle, then parallel the southern road and eventually you'll see it. It's on the right from this angle...” He looked at the castle. “Yeah. We found agents on that road, disguised in all sorts of outfits so I think its better to keep to yourself. Oh yeah, there's also a bag of goodies in there from Iggy, he said to check it out as soon as you can. But we gotta go. They're already watching us.” Lemmy made a notion to the guards above him, who in turn were pointing their weapons to the northeast. “Listen. We're not kicking you out and I don't hate you or anything. This is the path you gotta follow. I don't know what's down it but...I think your happiness is somewhere on it. Never give up hope on that.”

Vincent simply nodded, not wanting to get emotional. He strapped on his pack and stepped off towards the southwest. “Thanks for caring.” he called back to Lemmy. “I won't forget you.”

“We'll talk again, don't worry.” Lemmy waved. “Good luck!” With that, the king disappeared and Vincent began to trek towards what remained of his uncles castle, an uncle he didn't feel too good about.

The castle soon fell behind him and in the distance Vincent could see a long line of travelers heading in the opposite direction. The ground was littered with rocks and rubble along with a large amount of water from snow melt and walking was a bit treacherous. A half an hour passed before Vincent began to realize how long of a trip this was going to be. The day was already getting long.

Getting an idea, Vincent stopped and looked inside of his pack. Finding a tied brown bag, he assumed it was from Iggy and opened it. Inside were a number of scrolls, one of which was entitled "magic melding." What was that about? Unfurling it, he took a quick look at its contents before placing the brown bag in his pack and setting off again. Apparently, it was the ability to meld two magic spectrums together into a cohesive force and the UmNaru used it extensively against his father's side of the family. Iggy had just started to do research on the method and as such remained archaic, as the instructions showed, but in theory his white magic and black could be combined into one force using a specialized wand that utilized several crystals. It seemed certain crystals were needed for certain spectrums and Vincent wondered of Ludwig's Castle would have anything of the sort left, untouched by robbery. But regardless, he knew it wouldn't have a place to make a new wand which was something he was getting eager to do with all this new knowledge. He would have to go back to Erzembar to reforge a new wand. Or…

“No, I'm not doing that again.” he muttered to himself, remembering the old forge that his ancestor Morton had talked about. Vincent told himself that he would never enter the Valley of the Koopa's again, if he could help it. He remembered his dad giving him a small bag of crystals back at John's Castle when his whole adventure began. That would be the best place to start. If he could find the right crystals and merge his knowledge in white and black magic together, he could become a potent force and finally be able to match the higher echelons of the UmNaru. 

But this made his curiosity expand further. If they could meld, then why didn't they send any melding users against him during his escape? In fact, most of the forces he faced could be considered lesser minions, hardly what would be used against an important target such as him. A melding user could have easily stopped him. Then again, it was true that the place was undergoing an evacuation before being deliberately destroyed and most of the higher ups had probably moved out by then, but still...Vincent felt that someone or something was making things happen for him, whatever that force was…

The sun slowly lowered over the horizon as he went and the faint sound of wagons and voices were heard in the distance. For the next few hours Vincent studied and experimented with ways to meld magic with only one crystal in his wand, and found he could meld, albeit inefficiently with a crystal of the other spectrum in his pocket or somewhere close to his skin. Still, a wand built for such things needed to be made and he knew it would have to be done soon. He felt that he was being followed, even if he couldn't hear any footsteps behind him.

The sun had already lowered below the horizon when Vincent finally stopped to ease his stomach. Reaching inside of his pack, he pulled out something wrapped inside of a cloth. Inside was a loaf of banana bread, with a good luck note from Toadette. There was also salted pork and a small canteen filled with water. Considering the situation, Vincent felt grateful.

While he ate, he rummaged through Iggy's bag and pulled out another scroll, this one old and written in another language. “The next thing in Iggy's bag of tricks is...” Vincent unfurled it but frowned at what he saw: it was all written in some archaic language. “Hey Iggy, what is this?” Vincent thought as he tried to make sense of sending him something he couldn't read. But as he read, it seemed the words flowed into him and he became aware of a raised audience of voices that spoke through the air around him. Vincent impulsively rerolled the scroll and the voices ceased, replaced with the sound of a cool air from the north. Whatever it was, Iggy still hadn't answered his question. Why did he not answer sometimes? Was he that busy?

“Whatever...” Vincent sighed and opened the scroll again, deciding to figure it out himself. The voices returned and grew stronger, and reality seemed to darken somewhat around him. Slowly, lights manifested in the air and when they took the form of bodies, Vincent had to stop himself from rerolling the scroll again. This was a spell to talk to the dead, wasn't it? It seemed similar to walking in shadows, but here the other spirits could clearly be seen, unobscured by magical prejudice. Many were watching him and he quickly grew uncomfortable. He decided to keep moving. Vincent rolled the scroll, but the spirits did not disappear. “This better not be permanent.” he muttered as a list of possibilities ran through his mind. Maybe he could try something with mind magic…

“Hey you!” came a voice and Vincent stopped himself. “It's me!” Floating above the ground was the ghostly apparition of his younger sister, Beth Koopa. She had a smile on her face and her legs were no longer black. Vincent said nothing for a long while, the emotions from those times still unresolved.

After a time, Beth moved forward. “It wasn't your fault.” she said. “What happened happened, it isn't your fault.”

But Vincent felt like he was back in Morton's tomb again, surrounded by nothing but the dead. “It's not that.” he said finally. “I can't seem to shake the dead from me.”

“The dead were once living.” said Beth. “Don't shoo them away because many want to help you. You don't have to do this alone! You have lots of help, you just need to know where to look. I've been trying to talk to you forever but you didn't know the right spells.”

Vincent nodded but said nothing.

“What happened was meant to happen.” Beth continued.

“Why?” Vincent asked.

“So we can learn.” said Beth. “That's why we're here, to make choices.”

“What can I learn from that?” Vincent asked.

“We never really die.” Beth replied. “We take different forms, but we never really die.”

Vincent nodded and started walking again. But the pain still lingered from finding their corpses, being forced to drag them to a pile and watching them burn to ashes. It made reality seem to be an unreal thing, a dream. A waking dream.

“How's the others?” Vincent asked, trying to keep himself together.

“Most are already in their next incarnation.” said Beth. “Some waited for a while, but I refused to go until we could talk. I can't stop thanking Tommy for it. Stevie says hello.”

Vincent smiled. “And mom?”

Beth looked away. “She left already.”

“For?”

“The new world.” said Beth.

“Oh, the octopus thing.” Vincent fell silent as he remembered that he was bound by the choices he made, which would decide his ultimate fate. Beth followed in silence and the two traveled for nearly another hour until Vincent came upon a set of low hills that blocked his view of the road. Beth guessed his intentions. “I'll let you sleep.” she said. “Just know that you are not alone. If they aren't watching you in thought, they're watching you in spirit.”

“Thank you for saying hello.” said Vincent. “It's good to know you're okay.”

Beth smiled and then disappeared, leaving him with the rest of the spirits. Never really die, huh? Just different forms…

Vincent then took his wand and began an idea he thought of while walking. Holding a purple crystal, he cast two spells one after the other. His immediate area was then not only purged of negativity, but a mind spell fell upon it that made those of the black spectrum go mad from their own personal demons. His wand reflected this, a glowing white crystal with a purplish aura surrounding it. The mark of Amura shielded him from the spells effects on himself. That was the easy part.

Vincent took out his rolled up tent and tossed it on the ground. He had no idea how to set up a tent, other than watching his father set one up for him back in the Old Kingdom. Vincent shook his head and went to work. It took him a little more than an hour to set it up correctly after having to start over after building the outer frame backwards. The darkness didn't help him either. Next time, he would set up camp when it was still sunny out.

Placing his bag and blanket in the tent, he sat outside and looked at the stars for a while, now clearer and more numerous. A thought came to him, and he pulled out of his pocket Tommy's old phone. Finding the power button, he fiddled with the device, never before experiencing a touch screen. It was a bit of the old world in his hand, and resembled some kind of portable touchscreen computer. Navigating through the apps, he came across the file manager of the device and found several videos within along with a number of photos. 

Vincent opened the oldest video. He saw a place full of very tall buildings with lighted windows, and what appeared to be flying boats were seen crossing the sky this way and that. Was this the Old Kingdom? The camera suddenly panned to the right and focused on a massive looking castle in the distance that dwarfed above the rest of the skyscrapers. Large plumes of smoke were seen rising behind it.

“So here's the story as it stands right now.” came a voice Vincent did not recognize. “The network thinks that King Bowser is actually dead and his son Junior is trying to take the crown.”

Junior? Who was that?

“So the official news story is a cover.” the voice continued. “We haven't seen Ludwig at all since the Galaxy broke up, but he wouldn't attack the castle anyway. That's right, the castle was attacked last night. Now we know that Junior's been in charge of the kingdom since Bowser left a few days ago, so I think that one of his other sons attacked him. Maybe it's fallout from that aerial battle from earlier this week, but we got evidence of a civil war going on. Morton's forces have been parked on the castle's eastern flank and shelled it this morning while another force came from the north. Yes, you heard that right. They came out of the Valley of the Koopas. Rumors are saying its Lemmy and it wouldn't surprise me considering he's second in line, but how he got through the valley, no one knows. The most recent intel says Junior is heading to the castle from the south with Roy and Wendy.”

“Roy?” Was that his dad?

“They didn't look like they were with it, like they were being controlled by someone or something. There's a lot of conspiracies behind that and will leave it to the forum to figure out, but my last bit of gossip says that Larry Koopa, who's now the new Blood King will be making an announcement soon. Supposedly that post on the forum is from Larry himself, in which case it'll be admitting that the Great Destroyer exists which is something Bowser's government has constantly denied. It could be about the alien presence, or just that Bowser's dead after all. We'll see what happens later today, which is the ETA for this thing. Until then, I'll keep you guys updated on the front lines. Axel, signing off.”

The video ended and Vincent drew a breath. “Wow.” It was a lot to take in, but he had already learned a lot from that video alone. It was a culture shock to even think about how they lived, compared to how he was struggling to survive now. But at least things started to make sense: why people had a hard time letting go of their own lifestyles, why people couldn't trust each other. The dots connected on their own and a scenario played out in Vincent's mind, of his father's time as a youth and his way of thinking, and how all of that was lost to them when the pole shift occurred. They were too old to fully adjust to their new surroundings and let go of their old life because...there was something to learn from those days that could be passed on. 

Vincent opened the next video in the list. A black shiny wall could be seen at first before the camera swirled 180 degrees. “Yo.” Tommy waved, and swung the camera back around. “So this is Genlic.” he said, beginning to walk down the hallway. It was the first and possibly the last time Vincent would ever see what Larry's abode looked like. “I don't know what the walls are made of.” Tommy continued. “But I tried punching one and it hurt...a lot.” He chuckled. “It's not glass though. That's all I know.”

“Nobody knows what it's made out of.” came a voice. It sounded like Ashley's.

“Yeah, that's what Larry said.” said Tommy, and he began walking down the halls. He talked about his stay at Genlic, along with his story following the aftermath of the pole shift. There came a point when Tommy reached a glassy door, through which was seen a strange spherical contraption with wires crossing this way and that. “So I found this thing the other day.” Tommy explained. “And I have no idea what it is.”

“My dad called it the galactic core.” said Ashley. “It was a part of that Galaxy thing I told you about. He said your dad made a copy of it.”

Bingo! Vincent paused the video and took a good look at it. It was probably similar to what he was looking for at Ludwig's Castle. The big problem still remained in his mind however: powering that thing. The phone that he used was charged by a portable solar panel but he didn't know if that was the case with this thing, let alone the one at Ludwig's Castle. He wouldn't know until he got there. That reminded him.

Vincent shut off the phone and was surrounded by the darkness of the night save for the lights in the sky. He crawled into his tent and zipped up the door before wrapping the blanket around himself and resting his head on his backpack. He hoped to reach Ludwig's Castle by tomorrow, when the real fun would begin.

* * *

Vincent suddenly awoke to a black hooded figure looming over him. “Got you.” it whispered before pulling out a knife. But Vincent on impulse kneed the assailant in the stomach and flipped them on their back. Climbing on top, Vincent pointed his wand at the assailants face before throwing back the hood to find a laughing Tyrendil. Rolling his eyes, Vincent rolled over to his side. “Not funny.” he said, annoyed he was woken so early. It was still dark outside. She did not stop laughing.

“Did you ever murder your rapist?” Vincent asked, and her laughter finally ceased.

“No...” she said sadly. “The last time I saw him, I tried to cut his balls off. They're used in ritual for traitors, so I thought he wouldn't mind.” She smiled. “Before that, I almost bit his koopahood off.”

“Wonderful.” Vincent muttered, realizing he had indeed dodged a bullet back there. “Too bad he wasn't killed.”

“Yeah I know.” she said nonchalantly. “Hey, I want to tell you a secret.”

“Why?” Vincent asked, wrapping the blanket around himself again.

“Because I know that's what you want.” she hinted.

Vincent laid his head on his pack. “I want a lot of things.” he muttered.

“Do you want to get rid of the mark?” she asked. “Because I do.”

“How do I know you're not lying?” Vincent asked. For all he knew, she could still be working for the UmNaru.

“You don't.” she bluntly stated.

“But I could cast a spell and make you say it again.” said Vincent, and he did so with his purple crystal, a lie detection spell, one of the things he learned from Iggy's goods. “Say it again.”

“There's no need.” she claimed. 

“You will say it again.” Vincent demanded, and he rolled back over. “And we'll see how loyal you are.”

But Tyrendil remained silent, and Vincent rolled on top of her again. “Say it or be punished.”

She shook her head.

“My tent, my rules.” said Vincent. But Tyrendil motioned to the outside and Vincent slowly came to the realization that they were being watched. That gesture told him a lot of things. 

“Fine.” Vincent rolled off again and decided to simply go to sleep, knowing she could not sneak up on him now. “But I expect you to be loyal to me.”

“I am loyal to you.” she said, then her finger glowed for a moment and she seemingly wrote in the air. It was the word “seriously.” She smiled.

“Good, then the UmNaru don't stand a chance. Let's get some sleep.” said Vincent, finally closing his eyes.

* * *

The next morning they awoke and Vincent reluctantly shared some of his food with Tyrendil. Packing away his tent, the two traveled southwest along the road for the majority of the day. Not much occurred then and the two talked to themselves, with Vincent learning a few tricks about magic melding once Tyrendil learned he had discovered the primary weapon of the higher ups. As a result the day passed quickly and the sun quickly lowered in the sky. By sunset the ruin of Ludwig's Castle came into view, crashed upon its side with its northern flank sticking into the air. As the day lengthened various fires were seen in the windows, confirming Lemmy's suspicions of the castle being occupied. Several more sprang up on the castle's outer perimeter and Vincent had a feeling that gaining access to the core, let alone the castle was going to be a challenge. 

As they approached, they heard laughter outside and at the presumed entrance were a group of Koopas dressed in dirty robes, seated around a small fire. They had liquor bottles in their hands and didn't seem to notice the trio approach them at first. It wasn't until they reached the entrance when they were stopped by one of them, a brusque looking Koopa. "You gotta pay up." he said with his compatriots falling quiet.

"Well..." Vincent looked through his robe for anything useful. Perhaps simply stunning them would--

“Just playin!” the Koopa laughed along with the others and Vincent managed to crack a smile. “We got a lotta stuff out of that though”

“Yeah like those dead batteries.” muttered one of the drunk Koopas. “Got any more of those? I'll win a bet if you do.”

“Nah.” Vincent waved. “I'm here to see what uncle Ludwig has in his closet.”

“Probably not much now.” said the third. “The rush came several days ago and made off with much of it. You can search the table scraps if you want, but I warn you there's not much left.”

“Be careful of his bedroom.” the drunk haphazardly warned. “That place...” he laughed. “...a lot of stuff happened there, that's a whole night of telling. You would love it.” he pointed to Tyrendil behind him. “You should go there first and make your mark, but there might be someone else there now, what's his name...” The drunk shook his head. “Ack, man his name was weird. But he don't like visitors to his place, whatever that means.”

“Oh that's fine.” Tyrendil smiled and briefly showed a collection of knives. “I know how to take care of them.”

“Woah...” The first Koopa looked at Vincent straight in the eye. “You are one brave soul hanging around her. Hell of a bodyguard, I'll give you that. Some of these wouldn't guess that before making their move. You know how they are.”

“She has fun with them first.” Vincent said. “Then she has her way with them, which is pretty bloody. How we met though is another story.”

“You'll be fine inside then.” said the first. “And you better get in now. That old gang is still trying to break in here and we're not letting them have this place again. We got no laws here, you can eat, sleep, fuck where ever when ever. Just don't tell me what to do, you get me?” The trio eyed the pair as they entered through the castle gate with the drunk shaking his head. “Balls of steel.” he muttered. “That's how you match steel, with steel.” 

Entering through the gate, Vincent was immediately aware of the incapacitated and run down state of the castle. Litter and debris lined the floors of each hallway that could be seen. The walls in many places had been stripped of its precious metals and other materials by those desperate for a quick bargain for food. Electronics were ripped out from their wall sockets or smashed and destroyed altogether. Some places held graffiti especially in the main hallway, and one depicted Ludwig as “the real joker” dressed in an outfit similar to Lemmy's circus days. Another showed a face of Ludwig with his eyes blinded by the branches of a tree that sprang forth from his mind.

In reality, Vincent didn't have much of an idea where to start. He thought about his next destination as he passed people sitting on the floors near the walls, several barrel fires raging nearby. Though he knew what the galactic core now looked like, he still didn't know where it was located. The bedroom was his first choice now that it had been mentioned, but the control center of the place was also another idea. The key was finding his way around the place first.

“What are you looking for?” Tyrendil asked, breaking the silence.

“The galactic core.” said Vincent in a hushed tone.

“The central computer of the Galaxy?” asked Tyrendil. “Yes, I believe a copy was put here, but the Blood King still has the original.”

“I shouldn't be surprised you knew that.”

“The UmNaru know everything.” said Tyrendil.

“I can say the same thing for the Amura, but guess what?” Vincent asked. “Neither know everything. They just think they do. It makes them feel better.”

Tyrendil said nothing. They soon reached what appeared to be a large shaft in the wall that carved out the floors above and below them. Far below a square contraption was seen twisted and deformed. Was it some kind of lift? 

“Elevator.” Tyrendil said. “We need to find the stairs.”

A cry of laughter from a group at the end of the hallway made Vincent turn and see the stairs not far from where they were seated. They too had bottles of liquor in their hands and Vincent wondered where all of this booze was coming from. It had to be from the old world, given how nice the labels looked.  
Walking past them, the two entered the stairwell, squeezing past debris and rusting metal girders. Painting the picture in his mind as they ascended, Vincent got an idea how luxurious this place used to be. He knew that Ludwig had been the king directly after Bowser, so Elizabeth told him back at Lemmy's Castle. That, along with the graffiti told him that his uncle had become the scapegoat for the rich and famous who undoubtedly lived better lives than the common folk. Vincent wondered if Ludwig really deserved all the hate he had been given, but he also didn't know his full past either and so continued on, deciding to answer that later.

They climbed the stairwell to the top, which led to a narrow hallway lined with windows now broken or cracked and letting in the evening air. A small fire burned in the corner of the hall and someone appeared to be asleep next to it. Vincent suddenly stopped and looked at something posted on the wall. It was a map! 

“Bridge is right above us.” Vincent hummed. “Master bedroom is one floor below us, guest bedrooms too. System core...is second floor from the bottom. Damnit.”

“Do you not know how to teleport?” Tyrendil asked.

“Not yet.” Vincent muttered.

“That's typical for the Telxin.” Tyrendil muttered. “Consider a low end spell to be difficult and a fireball the gate to adulthood. They are a bunch of pussies...seen too many squeal at a little prick of the skin. Listen, I'll save you the trouble since that's not your fault. The UmNaru learn this by age 3.” She quickly wrote an incantation in the air for Vincent to memorize. “I guess this is judged by mental projection.” he said as a matter of fact.

“Already smarter than most of the Telxin brutes.” said Tyrendil. 

“If that thing is solar powered, then we should wait until the morning to turn that thing on.” said Vincent. 

“That's a shame.” Tyrendil said. “The dark is is more fun to play with.”

“If you want to get rid of the mark, you have to start playing with the light.” Vincent suggested. “I'm tired anyway. A lot of these rooms seem to be locked with metal doors and it looks like many of them were never opened. Not sure what's up with that, but I bet one of these guest rooms is the same way.”

“Don't want to try sleeping in your uncles bed?” Tyrendil asked.

“It was probably fucked in a million times and there's probably people there now too.” said Vincent, recalling the koopa's words.

Tyrendil shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

“I'm going to guest bedroom number 2.” said Vincent, and he cast the new teleportation spell with his wand and he appeared in a small guest bedroom that was seemingly untouched by the invading masses. The bed, bolted to the floor was still made though much of the rooms furnishings were tossed about in an incoherent mess. The dresser lay on its side in a corner and the closet looked like a bomb went off. Tyrendil appeared moments later. "Stuffy decor." She muttered. "Not dark enough. It needs something more colorful. Can you help me with that?" 

She looked serious, but Vincent knew what she meant. He had hoped to avoid it and managed to do so in the tent, but he still needed to keep his game up. He didn't want to piss her off and have to fight her, unsure if he would win if that happened...but it wasn't what he really wanted, of course.

"I won't help you." Said Vincent. "But your punishment is long overdue, and if you don't cooperate you'll be sleeping in more than a few stains." Well, there's no going back now.


	55. The Forbidden One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burdened by Bowser's legacy, the forbidden one uncovers more of the past before facing the puppet master.  
> The Spirit King makes many sacrifices for unity and stability, but at what cost to his personal happiness?  
> The big wig achieves the level of the UmNaru, but not without being forced to face familial issues.  
> The clown prince changes the rules of the game.

Vincent awoke in bed next to a sleeping Tyrendil, curled next to his arm. It seemed the previous night had tired her out, but given what happened he wasn't very surprised. If that's what she wanted, then that's what she got. But despite that, he wished he could stop and find someone that was more...normal. While Tyrendil could be useful in some ways, ultimately she was dangerous and could hurt him badly on a moment's whim. However, ditching her was a bad idea, especially now that he had few friends because of the marks that he bore. She could easily turn around and stalk him which was the last thing that he wanted. For now, he needed to keep playing the game until he could find some way out.

Vincent got up from bed and stood, amazed at how cold it was inside. The blanket in his pack would've been a better choice, but then again, this place wasn't meant to be used like it was now. He grabbed his backpack off the floor and pulled out a slice of Toadette's bread. Tyrendil stirred in her sleep just as Vincent finished. "Come on." Vincent called, tapping her feet. "We gotta go." 

Tyrendil muttered something to herself before rolling herself out of bed. "I heard you." she said sleepily. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Vincent sighed and looked at his dwindling loaf of bread. He was going to have to find food at some point. Breaking off a slice, he handed it to her. “I don't have much left.” he mentioned. “So take this for now.”

Tyrendil took it and ate eagerly. “I need to find a place to pee.” she muttered, looking around then noticing a bathroom adjacent to the closet. 

“You do that.” said Vincent, zipping up and putting on his pack. “I'm going down to the system core. I'll meet you down there.” With Tyrendil saying nothing, he took out his wand and cast the teleport spell. He reappeared in the corner of a hallway not far from a pile of wreckage that blocked his path behind him. The sun had not yet crawled over the horizon: evidently, Vincent had gotten up earlier than he thought. Ahead of him was a group of Koopa's outside a large double doored entrance, seemingly trying to find some way to open it. Tyrendil appeared in front of him a few minutes later. “Always impulsive.” said Tyrendil. 

“I know what I'm doing.” Vincent stated and walked forward. Several of the Koopa's had crowbars and similar instruments to try and pry the doors open. “One of these days, it'll happen.” said one of them. 

“We should just sleep.” said another.

“That's why we do it at night!” said the first. “Everyone is trying to get in here during the day. They want to know what happened in the Galaxy because the royals never told us, not even during the announcement did they tell us.”

“They never told us anything to begin with.” said another.

“Well it's all in this room.” said the first. “Every answer, that's what they keep saying. We can finally see how much of a douche Bowser and his kids were if we can get this open!”

“I still say we should kill them all.” said another. “That gang was good for that at least.”

“Except Ludwig escaped.” said one Koopa, a young boy. “He could be anywhere now.”

“I don't know, I still say Ludwig's kids have nothing to do with it.” said the first. “But everyone's got their opinion on that.”

“Doesn't matter, it wont stop some people from hunting them all down and wiping them out.” said one. “They're the reason we were all poor to begin with.”

Vincent realized he had landed into more than he bargained for. It was clear that if he was going to get past these guys, it was either through sweet talking, intimidating them or subduing them. Considering his situation, Vincent decided to try the former first.

“You're here to help us?” one of them asked, finally noticing him. 

“I think I found a way to turn on the galactic core.” said Vincent. “So I traveled here but didn't expect the doors to be shut. I guess that's Ludwig for you.”

“Well, do you have any ideas?” asked the young Koopa. “We've been trying for days and have gotten nowhere.”

“How the hell would you know how to turn on the core?” the first asked. “The only ones that have seen it were on the Galaxy and they were very few who seen it.”

“Dude, I wasn't even born when the Galaxy was still up so don't ask me.” said Vincent. 

“Ah, one of those orphans.” said the first and Vincent rolled his eyes. “Core or not, the doors need to open first.”

“Have you tried using magic yet?” asked Vincent.

“Naw, we rarely get users around here.” said the first. “But seeing that Ludwig was a magic user, it's probably worth a shot. Have any ideas for spells?”

“I have a few.” Vincent pulled out his wand and some of the other Koopa's jumped back. “Woah, a Magikoopa!” one exclaimed. “That's perfect!”

“That's not a Magikoopa's wand!” said the first. “It's a fucking royal! No Magikoopa would ever have something that elaborate.” Some in the crowd seemed to ready weapons behind their backs. “Why would someone like you visit a place like this? Crawling with people who hate your guts?”

Vincent sighed. So much for that. “Because I have a right to open them, and I will open them.”

The first snorted, but the others talked with each other wondering what they should do.

“You can stand in my way, but that would be pointless since you're after the same thing.” Vincent continued. 

“A royal wouldn't come here unless he already knew.” one of them pointed out. “He's still a kid so I doubt he knows the whole story.”

“Fight or not, I'm going to get the answers.” Vincent said, casting a quick scan spell that told him that there was a magical seal on the outer shell of the door.

“Trying to order us around I see.” the first spat. “Those days are over. The people own this now.”

“I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you what I'm doing.” Vincent clarified, using his new magic melding knowledge to concoct a new spell. “If you want to know, then I'll show you the answers myself. But, if you attack me, then you'll get none of them.”

“Fucking royals.” one of the charged with a large hammer, but something threw him backwards and he was pinned to the wall with a knife on his jacket.

“Please do that again.” said Tyrendil. “I love hearing you get angry.”

“Not now Tyrendil.” Vincent warned, and he unleashed a neutralizing white and blue spell that blasted the doors wide open along with a whirlwind that picked up already loose papers and tossing them all around the room. It was sloppy but it worked.

“Get in!” The group suddenly rushed into the room and Vincent tried to follow but they all pointed their weapons at him.

“Thanks for the courtesy royal, but now you die.” said the first. “We can take it from here.”

Vincent was not happy with that pronouncement. “One attack, and I will kill all of you.” he pointed his wand at them. “Come on, who's going to give first?”

“This was not a good idea boss...”

“Shut up!” he yelled. “This is not your castle and you have no right to order me around!”

“And you have no way of getting into the core.” Vincent pointed out. “You are putting yourself on the line for nothing. Oh wait, I'm of royal blood, I hate him! Screw logic, let's kill him.” Vincent rolled his eyes. “Move out of my way now!”

The leader looked furious but for the moment had no way to refute his logic. Many of those around him looked ready to step aside however.

“We had no plan for this part yet.” said the kid. “And royal or not, he's way better than us. This is stupid, let's see what he pulls up first.”

With the majority against him, the enraged Koopa was forced to step outside as the rest of the group filed out. Vincent and Tyrendil cautiously stepped inside the room and found a spherical shaped device sitting right in front of them along with a stool surrounded by loose papers. Vincent sat down while the others watched from outside, with a few readying their weapons. Using his wand like a flashlight, Vincent looked for a way to turn the device on. Spotting a red button labeled “POWER,” he pressed it and a single screen came to life. Diagnostics sped by on the display until a message came up. “Auto-routed to emergency power. 89% battery capacity. Estimated runtime: 1 hour 10 minutes. Press return to continue.” He looked for the return key and pressed it. The message disappeared and a login prompt was then displayed. “Please insert core key or enter login information...” Vincent took the media card around his neck and looked for a place to insert it. Finding a few slots next to the monitor, Vincent slipped his card in. A message popped up on the screen: “Profile 'Donkey Kong' loaded. Please wait...” The Koopaling snickered. What kind of name was that? 

After a moment, the login screen was replaced with a menu containing a variety of options, such as “citizen records,” “security detail,” “column mechanical dynamics” and many more. Vincent hummed to himself. With everyone behind him now quiet, he clicked on citizen records and a long list of names appeared in front of him, along with mugshots and details for each individual. The space station apparently kept track of each person that lived there, and given the amount of information available they had to spy on them as well. There was no way people would simply tell their life stories to some random guard or overseer. 

Finding Ludwig, he clicked on his name and a small biography of his life appeared, though how much of it was true Vincent didn't know. But with the videos that were attached to his name in the form of deliberate documentaries and security footage, it appeared he was a very important figure in the old world. Several videos showed large parties with hundreds of guests, complete with bars, swimming pools and what appeared to be hot tubs.

“Holy shit.” said one person behind him, reminding Vincent that he was being watched. “I would of loved that shit.” Vincent closed the video and scrolled through the list before finding a few with Ludwig talking directly at the camera.

“Addressed to my person.” Ludwig began in one of them. “It is the 17th of November. It appears with the structural decay of the Galaxy that the mass evacuation will have to occur soon, with the ground intelligence being promptly notified beforehand of any incidents with falling wreckage that may enter their wake. In the meantime, I have begun initiating plans to prepare the government for exposure when the time comes, as the destruction will be visible to all and the devastation not just from some mere satellite. Bowser has prepared his son Bowser Junior for complete...takeover of his position, though while I am not pleased with his sudden decision, I am not surprised by the result. This is a matter that will be dealt with.” The video abruptly ended.

“Yeah, so that was civil war stuff.” murmured one. “Remember that?”

“Of course we do.” said another. “That was the beginning of the end, I think. Once Junior took the castle it was all downhill. Economy crashed because none of Bowser's kids wanted anything to do with it, just cared about their precious riches and their power. Just shows how they don't give a shit about us.”

“Careful, we don't know who this guy's dad is.” warned another. 

“So? Fuck 'em...” he trailed off, but Vincent ignored him and was browsing through more videos. He was amazed at how luxurious it all was, but also was amazed at people's reactions to it. Riches seemed to turn people into another monster altogether, either from an inflated ego or from people's jealousy. The civil war that Vincent was piecing together seemed to take place after Bowser's death, and he guessed that his grandad was killed when the Galaxy fell. Then a squabble to be the top Koopa happened, and knowing that Ludwig was the oldest, guessed that he was originally first in line. Something happened to make him lose the position, but given his uncle's track record that could have been a lot of things.

Regardless, it was clear to Vincent that his family was one born from politics from a state now destroyed and that they were once more selfish than they were now. He searched for Iggy's name, the one uncle he knew next to nothing about. Vincent wondered if he would hear his voice in his head now, given that he was watching everyone at once, but nothing turned up and he continued.

Iggy's name brought about a number of videos, much of his security cam footage of him walking through the Galaxy at large. One of them showed him entering a store, taking a notebook off a shelf, scanning a device across a counter, then leaving it promptly. He was seen headed towards a jungle like area marked with the words “Yoshi Land” before the video ended.

“That is such bullshit.” one remarked. “So that guy wasn't making it up. There was no money up there.”

“Money?” Vincent asked.

“You don't know what money is?” Several of them laughed. “You are one lucky son of a bitch.”

“It is the root of all evil.” said a Koopa with a wicked hairstyle. “It's why the Koopa Kingdom sucked so much. Everyone had to have money to just live life...they came in pieces of paper and coins and everyone needed to have them. Houses cost money, food cost money, cars cost money, and to get this money you had to work jobs, and that can be through companies or through the kingdom, government, whatever. Point is everyone needed money or they were homeless, couldn't buy anything to eat and they were labeled classless too. Looked down on for not “owning” anything.”

“Sounds like slavery.” Vincent muttered. 

“That's what it was, debt slavery. You could buy stuff without paying for it, but then you owe money, or debt. That's how they got you, cause then you couldn't make enough to buy the stuff you needed because of some economic crash that made stuff expensive or whatever excuse. So millions and millions of innocent Koopas were enslaved to this system that your relative Bowser set up. I don't know if he's your uncle, grandad or whatever but everyone hated Bowser. It was an open secret you couldn't tell because you were forced to worship his feet, but now that he's gone, lots of people want his kids dead. They will always go after them, even Lemmy, though he's probably the least shitty out of all of them, he still has haters going after him. There are people here who probably want to kill you right now—”

“Well aware of that.” Vincent spun around to face them. “But like any normal Koopa, I will defend myself and, seeing that I know magic I will probably win.”

Some looked a little irritated at that and clutched their weapons, but Vincent removed a glove and showed his mark of Amura. They stopped immediately. “Do you know what this is?” he asked them. To Tyrendil, it was a bold move.

“Yeah, and it doesn't make a difference to me.” the leader said. “Just another way for “King Iggy” to control his minions. I would kill them regardless.”

“Then you sound like these guys.” Vincent removed his other glove and the mark of UmNaru showed itself to them. The group was taken aback by this. “He's an UmNaru! Those guys have control over the family. He's a puppet!

“But he has the other mark.” noted a young teenager. “The UmNaru wouldn't tolerate that.” The group talked amongst themselves.

“He's a rogue.” the leader said. “That's what he is. No friends, no home, no nothing. No one will help him now, only the desperate. Now word will get out about you now that you visited this place, and if you aren't killed here first.”

“You sound like someone the UmNaru would like.” said Vincent. “I would join their ranks rather than risking your life with me. Better perks there too.”

The leader launched himself at Vincent with a poisoned knife, but the effort was fruitless. Vincent channeled black and white magic through his marks and, melding them together, sent the torrent at the Koopa who was raised off of the ground. The black spectrum forced out and amplified the Koopa's selfishness and anger through his skin and he started to deform amid his cries, before a shot of white magic send him shooting backwards over the heads of his compatriots and into the far wall of the hallway. Slumping to the floor, the Koopa writhed in pain at his new reddish deformity. The group was in an uproar but amid their cries for action none could unify on a single purpose.

“I don't even need a wand anymore...and yet I do.” Vincent said to himself and furrowed his brows. “You can take care of yourself, right?” he called to the Koopa. “Get some dressing and a few pads right? Can take care of those wounds, right?”

The Koopa growled at him, but his words were fumbled and unintelligible. He tried to get up, but the pain was too much and he slumped down again.

“Don't worry, this is all being watched.” Vincent commented. “Did you get that Trent?” he thought.

“Yeah, I told the others about the Galaxy.” came the reply. “No wonder my dad's quiet.”

“You guys weren't ready for a lot of that yet.” said Iggy. “”Some old world politics are better left buried.”

“Yeah, well you could have stopped me earlier.” Vincent thought. “A lot earlier, so why try now?”

Iggy did not reply. “So he really was that crazy.” came a new voice.

“Junior...damnit.” Iggy muttered. “You weren't supposed to know that.”

“There are no secrets in the thought verse.” Junior responded. “Cause those that keep them don't trust other people, right? So why don't you trust me? I already told the hybrids but they knew already.”

Iggy wanted to pull his hair out. His insane past caught up with him and now, like the old social media was spreading like a wildfire that could not be stopped. It was something he said himself yet had a hard time living by: in this world, there were no secrets.

To Vincent, Iggy's mistrust was evident, which wasn't surprising considering his past behavior. He had a feeling that would make him or break him in the future, but even then...

Vincent got up and took out the card from the computer. The group however turned to face him, blocking the exit. “I don't know why you had to bud in our business.” said an older koop. “But we--” But he stopped short when Vincent suddenly disappeared from view. Tyrendil could not see him in shadows, so cast a detect spell on him. However, nothing turned up. “What is this?” she muttered, now suspicious.

Vincent however suddenly found himself in a world not unlike walking in shadows, but here no spirits could be seen, let alone other people. “What is this?” he muttered in turn.

“Where are you?” Iggy's thoughts echoed. He could still speak telepathically, and the room was still visible but much darker than before. But then the walls in front of him seemed to stretch outward and his view changed to one traveling quickly to a faraway place. 

“You cannot run now, forbidden one!” came a deep voice. “I see you!” A massive black shape came into view before fires stretched out from it until they formed the shapes of arms, a large gnarled body and a huge head of a beast with long curled horns and double rows of sharp teeth. From its arms a stream of intertwining reds, oranges and yellows went forth and the hapless Koopaling was caught by the blast, only held in place by his own white magic. Who the hell was this guy?

“Do not engage!” Iggy shouted to those about to help Vincent. “He's way beyond your magical capability!”

While the remaining denizens of Genlic couldn't see the redness, Larry certainly could and saw Vincent in a pinch with his nemesis. This wasn't the first time that Koopa had gone after the youth, but this was the first direct attack against him. Larry prepared a counter attack, but Vincent was one step ahead of him. With a balled up swirl of white and black magic, Vincent launched the concoction at Koopa which went straight into his arms. Immediately, there was an explosion and Vincent was sent hurling backwards through several steel walls until breaking through the outer hull in an explosion of debris, and landing on the ground back in reality. A number of people were now watching and racing towards him.

“The cards are down!” Larry's voice said in his mind. “Get going!” Vincent's wand automatically cast a white radial spell to heal his cut leg and sprained arm. “Ow...” He struggled to get up and almost didn't see a number of people running towards him from behind with weapons in hand. A blackened knife flew through the air and sliced through several heads straight across, and their bodies suddenly dried and shriveled up before they collapsed to the ground as mere bones. Tyrendil had appeared behind him.

“I'm sending a team of Amura there right now.” said Iggy as the two started to run from the mob, who had begun attacking them. There was some infighting amongst those after Vincent and Iggy knew that Koopa was after the youth, but the forbidden one was a new term he hadn't heard before. It wasn't found in any of the ancient histories, but given what Vincent had, could it mean...?

“I advise you to reconsider your decision.” said Erzembar, interrupting his thoughts. “This enemy is beyond your capabilities.”

Iggy looked at Genlic, now filled with Koopa's rage. This was not a coincidence. He remembered the Kappur's words from before and saw through the AI's plan. They wouldn't meet when they were still alive...

“Oh yeah?” Iggy said. “Make me.”

“Your foolishness will result in the deaths of your comrades.” Erzembar explained. “And you will become the center of attention of one you are not prepared to meet.” But as Iggy hoped, Penny had warped to the core of Erzembar and prepared for its deactivation. This distracted Koopa and turned his attention to Iggy, giving Vincent some breathing room as he cut his way through a temporarily dazed mob ahead of him. “Get out of my way and I wont hurt you!” Vincent shouted ahead of him. Some obeyed, but others were still oblivious. “We're going to the valley!” he said to Tyrendil. 

“That place is a grinder.” Tyrendil commented before slicing the throat of an enraged women next to her. 

“So is this!” Vincent shouted back, but then he realized that there was no way he could run that entire distance without stopping. That was more than a day's walk away, but he got an idea. He teleported to a spot approximately 50 feet in front of him and the mob, with many of them now originating from isolated camps and the main road stopped and shifted directions. Tyrendil quickly got the idea and followed behind, covering his back.

“Again, the human who does not understand destiny.” Koopa said before launching an assault upon the main complex of Erzembar which rocked at the blast.

“Do it!” Larry instructed, and Penny began to disengage the AI but was stopped short when an arc of black magic shocked her in place.

“See how easy it is to manipulate those born of my seed?” Koopa laughed, speaking of Larry. Larry thought nothing, determined to keep his plans secret. But Iggy had other ideas as he fended up Koopa's onslaught.

“Your attempt to disengage my control systems threatens the structural complex of Erzembar.” the AI claimed. 

Iggy suddenly laughed maniacally. “Doesn't it?! Doesn't it now?! Isn't that weird! Let's take a page from Koopa's biggest puppet!” He sent Koopa's attack through the capstone of the main pyramidal complex, which turned the spell into the opposite spectrum with help from the crystal generators nearby that kept the white radial intact. Then, he channeled the spell through Penny herself, which not only simultaneously healed her but it arched out of her Spirit Wand and into the AI's control center. Explosions were heard along with a long monotonous moan. “I...will...see...plan...” the voice of Erzembar faded as many of the lights went out across the complex. Koopa ceased his attack immediately upon seeing what Iggy had done, but the ancient said nothing. Iggy grinned, finally gaining the upper hand. “You will not see your plan through!” he said. 

The Amura had finally arrived to help Vincent by sending white spectrum based purge spells left and right at the mob, who were anxious to kill an UmNaru, let alone a royal. But Vincent by now was teleporting large distances and was soon going for a mile at a time and still increasing his distance. However, not only was he getting tired, but other UmNaru had showed up to take advantage of the situation and try to capture him and so Vincent conserved his fighting strength towards them, dodging and defeating a few with white magic. But this did not last long as with the arrival of the Amura, the UmNaru began to think differently as they had no desire to engage two fronts at once, and their numbers were dwindling with each battle.

With a cue from someone above them, the UmNaru began their retreat just as the Amura force pushed forward with Ashley at the head. She took note of Tyrendil. “No pressure...” she muttered before purging a small group to Vincent's right, who abruptly stopped and wondered what they were doing. By now, Vincent was getting closer to the Valley and the peaks of the Koopa Crags towered not far from him.

Iggy noted that the closer Vincent got to the Valley, the more Koopa seemed to withdraw his influence. Since destroying Erzembar's core, Koopa had not even attacked again, presumably going back into his shell. Genlic's redness had certainly disappeared since then. But given what happened in the Valley of the Koopa's with Roy and Vincent, this didn't make sense in his mind. Wouldn't he use the dead against him again? Then why was the valley quiet?

“The valley is dead quiet.” Larry said, reading his mind. “Koopa's mark is not controlling it like it did.”

Iggy's mind was by now bombarded with thoughts all across the complex and he reminded himself that they were no longer simply imaginary people, but they were real and needed to be treated as such. After responding to the most important inquiries, he turned his attention to Larry. “I think this has to do with the “forbidden one” thing that Koopa mentioned.” he said.

“Well, you just laid that out there.” said Larry, reminding him they were being monitored.

“So? You said the cards were played.” said Iggy. “It doesn't matter now.”

“Except your area is incapacitated.” said Larry.” “And the UmNaru are out there full force. They may of retreated against the Amura, but once the Amura pull out they will return again and not only against Vincent. They may try the valley too, and are certainly thinking about it right now. They wouldn't do that for any lack of a reason, Vincent's a high profile target and we need to find out why, beyond his blood roots I mean. But first, Erzembar needs to--”

“I know, I know!” Iggy whined. “I'm just happy we won.”

“Yeah, the battle.” Larry said. “Not the war. I've already evacuated the majority of Genlic so Koopa can't hold them hostage if he chose to. So now this place can be used to its full potential, but Erzembar is still a major weapon against him and that needs to come back online.”

“Junior's got an idea.” said Iggy. “Until then, I'll look up this “forbidden one” stuff as it sounds like a lost prophecy...and Ludwig wants to talk to me about his progress, so I need to get going.”

“I want to help out you know.” Trent budded in.

“No Trent, we went over this.” said Iggy. “You're not done with your training yet and your dad would disagree too. Work on your chakra balancing exercise and see me in an hour and we'll talk further.”

Trent sat back and stared at the ceiling. He disagreed and believed he was ready for the fight again, or just to clean up even, but the adults would have none of it. Many miles away Ashley frowned, having listened to the exchange. She had wondered if Trent would have joined her, but it didn't appear likely now. 

“Ashley, keep a distance from Vincent.” said Iggy. “Your main job is to protect the entrance to the Valley of the Koopa's in case anything tries to get in.”

“Okay.” she responded and noted that the mob had dispersed as they drew closer to the Valley. Vincent noticed as well and had stopped teleporting as he was too tired from the rush and preferred to walk what distance remained.

“Let's camp outside the entrance.” Vincent said. Tyrendil said nothing as they continued along, with Ashley and a group of Amura trailing behind them. 

"Hey dad." Junior called to him in his mind. "The hybrids said they can replace that for you."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, Morton's talking to them now." Junior replied. Iggy saw their location outside, not far from one of the crystal pylons. It was funny how they started to make their home here without words, despite the fact they had cities all across the planet, though they were hidden. Then again, there were much less Koopa's alive now compared to Bowser's day and more were still going...

Iggy warped himself straight to them and his mental vision instantly became reality. All looked at him.

“They're willing to do it.” said Morton, now a bit taller but still skinnier than his dad and a little more serious. “But they have a few conditions.”

“Indeed.” the hybrid telepathically relayed. Iggy still wished he could initiate contact with them himself. “We are willing to replace what you term the core of Erzembar with our own specialized power generator which would provide the energy needed with a limitless supply. This is a technology found in the Fourth Density however, so unfortunately only those who are service to others may operate and use it. While you are leaning towards service to others, it is not a solid choice as of yet. Therefore, we cannot allow you operation of the core.”

Iggy made a face.

“Your mate Penny is in a similar situation.” the hybrid continued. “Your son Iggy Jr. and Trent are willing to help.”

“I can if you want.” Junior said, who was with a number of hybrids and some Koopa's a few blocks from him. “I'm a little busy with these new building projects, but I could squeeze it in there. Wait, you can't even fight yet Trent?”

“Not yet.” Trent replied.

It all clicked in Junior's mind then. “You can do it Trent, that'll give you something to do.”

“Thanks...if Iggy will let me.” said Trent. The hybrids looked at Iggy, who sighed. It was all happening so fast and all without him. His gut told him this had to do not only with the Vice and his failure to deal with him, but also with his own maniacal past. He calmed himself and decided to push one of his plans ahead, despite how early it was.

“Alright, Trent can do it.” Iggy finally said after moments of silence. “After I'm done with reviewing his current state of health.”

“Very well.” the hybrid said. “We will begin the installation of the core in the meantime.” The hybrids turned and with Morton walked in the other direction. Iggy tried to not let his heart sink; it seemed that his control over Erzembar had slipped away to everyone else and he felt a bit disappointed. Yes, the shelter now had a mind of its own, and no longer really needed his help. Maybe he was too old school, following the patterns of power and control that he was taught as a child, molded into something more benevolent as experience taught him. But it was clear that this new generation was different: more trusting and more caring of other people than for one's insecurities. They put others before themselves, something the old Koopa Kingdom would never do. They were better than he was, that was for sure. But that didn't mean he didn't have a place anymore. He was still the Spirit King and was heading the assault against the UmNaru with the reformed Amura. Speaking of which...

Iggy warped back into Erzembar and into a small room filled with a variety of plants and the light of the sun. Seated crosslegged near a wall was Trent with a plethora of lights swirling about him. Perhaps due to the Spirit Wand, his chakra system was visible in their colored spectrum with each spinning like a wheel at somewhat varying speeds. Surrounding this was his auric field and the accompanying chi flow which now moved mostly uninhibited around his body. Iggy did notice a white light at the base of Trent's spine, and the youth's face seemed to wince every now and then.

“It seems you're going through Kundalini activation.” Iggy commented. “That is really early for you.”

“My back hurts a lot.” Trent thought.

“That can be done in your spare time for now.” said Iggy. “Let's look at your fifth...” The blue was spinning better than it did before, but the green still had sluggish movement. “Still some emotional issues there.” Iggy commented. “Better than it was though. Can you breathe easier?”

“Yes.” came Trent's response.

“Then these patterns are taking hold in your subconscious.” Iggy explained. “Soon you won't have to think about it at all, it'll just happen.”

Trent nodded, and the showcase disappeared as he got up. “I guess I'm taking your spot as maintainer.” Trent said. “I hope you don't feel too bad about it, because it's nothing personal. We learn and we fail, but the end must still be won.” 

Iggy did not respond, and so Trent teleported out of the room leaving Iggy to stare at the wall.

“You're way better than I am.” the Koopaling said to himself as he watched Trent converse with the hybrids in the central chamber. He shook his head and looked at what Ludwig was up to. It seemed he was ready to present his findings, despite Iggy already knowing what they were. Still, seeing it in action was better than not. He warped into the magic room located within the bowels of Erzembar. There, in front of him were a variety of magic wands that all lay upon a table. Next to this was a large book set atop a pedestal in which Ludwig was writing something. Ahead of him was a large circular space in which various debris was seen strewn across the floor, along with a number of burn marks.

“Ah yes, greetings Ignatius.” Ludwig started, never dropping his formalities despite his experiences. “I am glad to have been given the permission to peruse through the expanded library, for I have discovered a number of disciplines never before seen to our generation.”

“What did you find?” Iggy asked.

“Through careful experimentation, new spells have been created and are currently being cataloged through this new magical system, which I will now explain. Before, the use of magic was relegated to a single spectrum, due to the withholding of knowledge as you yourself had explained earlier. As such, each wand was relegated to a single gem denoting the expertise of a certain spectrum rather than a wide range an individual may be competent in. As a result, any other spectrum not represented by such a crystal had its resulting manifested conjuration more watered down than the rest of the primary that was used. This has been solved however. Please observe.”

One of the wands on the table flew into Ludwig's paw. It had one gem on both ends with a hand grip in the middle. “This is a basic melding wand, capable of casting not only two spectrums at once, but melding the two together thereby creating new spells altogether. Within the center of the wand is a quartz balancing crystal, the secret ingredient to this process. Observing that the gem's cater to wind and water magic, blue and teal respectfully, we can deduce that the wand targets those beginners interested in weather phenomena. For example...”

The circumference around the open space in front of them flashed momentarily before Ludwig twirled the wand in his hand like a baton. Both crystals glowed, and the ceiling suddenly grew cloudy until an area of low pressure developed in the center. A center of circulation developed in the middle, but not before rain started to hit the floor, gently at first then in a ravaging downpour.

“This is a very basic example of using the potential of two spectrums at once.” said Ludwig, and with a flick of the wrist the cloud dissipated and the rain stopped. “Now, let's demonstrate something more complex.”

Placing the wand on the table, Ludwig picked up another which was covered in many more jewels. “This is a wand for the melding expert.” Ludwig said. “Along with the gems upon each terminating end are a number of secondary gems located between the central hold and said terminations. Therefore, one can wield two primary spectrums with a number of supporting secondaries in turn depending upon the wielder's needs. Again, note the number of balancing crystals upon the exterior with the quartz spirals between the ends. This is in addition to three of the same crystals upon the interior. Given the number of spectrums inherent upon this particular piece, it is necessary to also include balancing crystals upon the exterior as without said crystals, the mind would collapse upon itself due to its inability of handling such a large amount of power at once. Thus, they are required. Note that the number of gems on this wand equals no less than four: Earth, Water, Air and Mind. Theoretically, one can hold up to six spectrums on a single wand.”

“Wow.” Iggy muttered.

“The wands become rather heavy however and can only be used by those with sufficient strength, physically and mentally.” said Ludwig. “Now, let's demonstrate how the different spectrums can cooperate together.” Twirling the wand, clouds began to form again in the center of the room, a recasting of the spell previous. Wind and rain pounded the magical periphery and Iggy guessed a Category 2 with winds at those speeds. The floor also started taking on water, and a massive flood began to rise. 

“It appears, by coincidence that a meteor storm is incoming.” Ludwig mentioned as flaming balls of rock were hurled into the water like ignited hail. But Ludwig soon grew bored, and with another twirl the ground suddenly opened up and all the water and precipitation fell straight into the gaping chasm. “Even more extraordinary is the fact that an earthquake has stuck the vicinity.” Ludwig said.

“Okay, I got the point.” Iggy said, not wanting his older brother to ruin the place. The entire show stopped all at once and the open floor faded back into its solid state from earlier. 

“This is a good way of showing how different spectrums can work together.” Iggy continued. “But what about actually merging them?”

“That is precisely what this book is for.” said Ludwig, motioning to the book behind him. “I have been recording the new spells discovered and the methods used to arrive at said spells. I will demonstrate just a fraction of what has been discovered thus far, as the imagination is the only true limit, I believe.”

Spinning the wand again, the gems let loose a ray of their own color which then combined with the others into a dark greyish morass at the center of the room. It molded itself into a monstrous humanoid shape before manifesting a figure of rocks and large boulders held together by some invisible force. A shape resembling a head came into view and promptly looked at its creator. “Hummm...creator.” it hummed.

“This is a rock golem with sentience.” Ludwig explained. “It is capable of thinking for itself unlike most creatures which rely on their masters for control and guidance. Obedience however depends upon the will and intent of the user. You may recall the creatures that had overrun the Koopa Kingdom during the civil war that was in progress.”

Iggy remembered that time, when he reincarnated inside of his corpse which was something he didn't like thinking about. It was funny how time made previously tolerable things more unsettling. Complacency? Or Fear?

“I saw the tail end of it.” Iggy responded.

“I do believe the creatures were intentionally created constructs using a similar method.” said Ludwig. “It is a wonder that the UmNaru do not use such magic more directly against us lately, although the danger of discovering their art is ever present especially with the creation of the Amura. In any case, this golem here can wield a number of different magical spectrums, in this case fire and water and can merge those spectrums to create its own spells as well. You can imagine the limitless possibilities with such magic.” He turned to the Golem. “Your service as demonstrator is appreciated.”

“All for the creator.” the Golem said as he was seemingly demolecularized into nothingness. Iggy felt a little bad for it, perhaps as conscious entities have a chance of obtaining third density.

“Of course, more than Golems can be made.” Ludwig said.

“We'll save it when you present these spells to the others.” Iggy interjected, growing tired of Ludwig's long winded explanations. “I'm needed in other areas right now. Thank you for showing off what you've discovered though, this is a good edge against them. Also, I figured I should let you know that Trent got promoted to be the core operator of Erzembar. It seems the hybrids are pushing their civilization into this area.”

“That is excellent to hear.” said Ludwig. “Thank you for informing me.” Iggy teleported out of the room leaving Ludwig to himself. He breathed, as for once he had not been ostracized. Though disappointed that he was unable to show his greater melding examples, the upcoming “presentation” would be a better venue to showcase what the Amura would soon be capable of doing. 

Ludwig returned to the book and began finishing his latest entry in his log of melding magic. Only a few minutes went by however when the familiar sound of someone teleporting was heard behind him. He turned and saw it was Elizabeth.

“Hi dad!” she greeted before hugging him.

“...greetings.” Ludwig managed, not used to getting hugs from his children. 

“What are you working on?” she asked, pulling away.

“Ah, well this in particular is a log of the research of melding magic,” Ludwig replied, “which is the merger of two or more magical spectrums which then create new spells never before experienced.”

Elizabeth hummed. “Can that be used for those in the hospital right now?” she asked, referring to the wards at Lemmy's Castle. “Because we're almost out of supplies and we're really getting desperate trying to find something else.”

“Theoretically yes.” Ludwig said. “Though experimentation in the area of serious healing is limited at the moment. I will ask your brother Trent if he can volunteer his knowledge for the effort once he finds free time away from his new duties as the core operator of Erzembar.”

“Wow!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “That's a huge job!”

“Indeed.” said Ludwig. “And though it is tempting to ask for a few...favors, I must abstain in light of recent experience.”

“No.” Elizabeth pointed at him. “Bad. Don't do that to Trent.”

Ludwig rolled his eyes and sighed. “So how is the rest of the family then?”

“Sam is sick.” she said, frowning. “That's kind of why I asked...”

“Again?” Ludwig suspected some type of immune system deficiency.

“Yeah...all the medicine is gone, so...some of my friends tried their magic on her, and she felt better for a little while, but she keeps relapsing.”

“What are the symptoms?” Ludwig asked.

“Hot head, her whole body is hot really. And her leg that just healed is swelling up.”

“I will ask uncle Iggy to spare a doctor, perhaps of the Amura to check on her condition.” said Ludwig.

“I'm on it.” Iggy responded telepathically.

“Actually...if you don't mind.” Elizabeth started, getting an idea. “Would you teach this new melding thing to the normal magic users too? Cause the Amura aren't even allowed in the castle anyway, so it would be best if all these Magikoopas or whoever know it right?”

“That's actually a better idea.” said Iggy. “If they can't, I mean those who are STO can't come here themselves, then we can send a group of Amura to the castle and teach them outside of it.”

Ludwig sighed and muttered to himself. “That will increase the already existing busy schedule I must pursue, but Samantha's health takes precedence. Very well, I will tell the other researchers to prepare for a separate presentation at the Castle targeted towards those in the hospital setting.”

“Thank you!” Her smile returned. “We really needed help and we were looking at everything.”

Ludwig made a dismissive wave. “It is not an issue. However, the training may take some time due to a lack of a thorough teaching program involved with melding magic at the moment. For the practice of healing, I would imagine white and green magic to be the most effective, perhaps with a touch of purple for otherwise chaotic minds.”

“Purple magic...that would be perfect for mom.” Elizabeth commented.

Ludwig blinked. Why didn't he think of melding purple magic and white magic before to heal Kylie? Considering the UmNaru's heavy use of purple magic, the possibility was probably pushed out of his mind. “You are full of productive ideas today.” complimented Ludwig. “My person has been attempting to remedy your mother's unfortunate mental condition without much success...but the answer appears to have been staring at me in the face, like many other problems lately...”

“I told her to go sew because she wouldn't stop talking about how awful everything is.” she said, and she shook her head. “I hate seeing her like this. She was so nice, and then the end of the world thing happened and she snapped, like totally. I had to literally push her into the sewing room cause she wouldn't stop saying bad things about us and how bad I was being. I got sick of it, lost my temper and told her to shut up and listen to yourself before saying anything else. She hasn't said anything to any of us since.”

Ludwig was silent. Elizabeth rubbed her forehead. “Listen, I don't hate her or anything because I know she's sick, sick in her mind. I still love her and want to help her, but I don't know how. This mind magic stuff is not something I know about. Please help her out. I don't want to see her get any worse.”

The greater problem in Ludwig's mind was how negligent he was being towards Kylie, like a broken Koopa beyond repair while using his new position as Senior Researcher of the Amura as an excuse not to face the problem. “This is my fault, as my person and my duty as husband is to look after your mother. I shall accompany the Amura to the Castle, though unfortunately like them, I cannot enter the premises.” He showed the mark of Amura to Elizabeth.

“Oh that's right.” she murmured. “I'll figure out how to get her outside.”

“It seems uncle Lemmy has granted you an exception to the rule.” Ludwig pointed out.

“Oh yeah, he did and most people are cool with it, though some don't like it.” said Elizabeth.

“A natural course of events. So then, is there anyone else that requires assistance?” Ludwig asked.

“Shirley could use some of that purple magic.” said Elizabeth. “She still hates guys.”

Ludwig shook his head: another thing he forced out of his mind. If anything, Shirley needed professional therapy, something he knew no longer existed in its old form. 

“She will need extensive therapy.” Ludwig began. “As it is better to solve mental dilemmas at an early age before the mind begins to solidify with age. It would be a shame to see her choose homosexuality as her sexual orientation because of this issue.”

“Why would that be a shame?” Elizabeth asked. “If that makes her happy, then what's wrong with that? She told me she wants to like guys...but she can't help herself. If she lets the problem steer her then that's something, yeah. But I mean, Xavier's gay and he's happy. There's nothing wrong with that.”

“What did you say?” Ludwig asked.

“That Xavier is gay?” Elizabeth repeated. “...you mean you didn't know???” She cupped her mouth and realized she messed up. “Oh boy, here we go...”

Ludwig turned and paced around the room with clear frustration. “I had expected my eldest son to continue this lineage, but now that is no longer an option.” Ludwig said angerly. “Now only Trent remains and surely this is now his responsibility, whether he wills it or not.”

“What?” Elizabeth blinked. “You mean only guys can have kids that count as being part of the family? What about me, or Shirley, or Sam?”

Ludwig turned to look at her, his anger simmering upon realizing she didn't know the law of succession. “The law of succession states the head of the family lineage, typically the King of the Earth be descended from the male. However, this law also rules over each familial branch, whether it be the royal house or not. The eldest son is preferable, as with his children the title is passed on to him and so forth.”

“But why can't girls do that?” Elizabeth asked. “What's the difference? I don't understand, but to me it hurts to think my kids would be thought of lesser than just because I'm a girl. That's not right. I'd like to live in a world where being a boy or girl doesn't matter. We're all the same family--”

A sound and King Lemmy suddenly appeared next to them, interrupting Elizabeth. “Surprise!” he exclaimed. 

“Well, this is rather unexpected.” Ludwig commented.

“Iggy sent me, said you were arguing about the kids of females not counting as much as males or something like that?” Lemmy asked.

“Yes, though I'd wish he would not bud into business that is not his, despite his job and abilities.” said Ludwig. 

“It's nothing personal.” said Lemmy. “It's just the perfect time to tell about my plan on fixing the old laws to something more...I don't know, humane? Universal? I like that word. But the old way of doing things, finding the next king and all that are going away soon.”

“How soon?” Elizabeth asked, already wanting them fixed.

“Right now!” Lemmy exclaimed. “I'm going to tell everybody all at once. Let's meet outside my place then have a good time afterward! Cause we're all done with work for today anyway, so this is perfect. See you there!” He disappeared with a flash.

Ludwig rolled his eyes. “His spontaneous nature does not translate well into administrative duties.” he muttered. “Especially those with rigid schedules.”

“He's pretty fun.” Elizabeth said. “You just have to not be too serious all the time. He doesn't like that. Well, I'm going to see what's he's going to say.”

“I shall watch from a distance.” said Ludwig, deciding to use magic instead of risking being hurt by the crowds. Elizabeth teleported out and she arrived on one of the balconies of Lemmy's Castle, where Lemmy was seen talking to a few people with thousands of others congregating below him. Behind Lemmy in the corner, King Larry could be seen, arms folded and talking to a few people. He was apparently aware of what was going on.

“Yeah, I want to do it now!” said Lemmy. “We're done with today's routine right?”

“Well mostly.” said a toad next to him. “I guess we can do it, but it's rather sudden don't you think?”

“Do what the enemy does not expect.” Lemmy said as words of wisdom. “Like changing the rules at random. Hahaha! You know they're watching. I know they're watching. Things just heated up and we have a chance to beat evil so, I'm going to do this. Ready?”

None of them said anything, so Lemmy took to the front of the balcony. “Yooooooooo!” he called out which got some people'z attention below. That was one thing that he missed: a microphone and speakers. Then again, there was his wand. 

“Yooooooo!” he called again, this time his voice amplifying everywhere using magic from his own wand. This got most people's attention. “What's up? Thanks for coming on short notice, a little random I know. Haha. It's just that I keep hearing about this gossip. What happens if I ever...go away? What do we do then? Yeah, well you got a council already. I know.” He paused as some shouts came up. “It would be great to have you guys just run the kingdom for yourselves. But the game we gotta play on stage now doesn't work like that...and it's not quite over yet. A lot of people have an idea what it's about, but most don't know all the rules, what the whole picture looks like, what's really at stake and what it means. This is something that's been going on for centuries. Yeah I know, get angry for not being told. There were some bad motivations behind that. But you know, ignorance is bliss too. If you knew half the stuff that goes on in this game, you would get pretty pissed off. You just want to be happy, so I'm not going to say everything not because you don't deserve to know, but because it might rob that happiness. Just know that once this game is over, you'll be able to see what's been going on and I'll lay it all on the table if you want to see. If you want to. I think this will all be ending soon, so I'm going to do something that'll piss the other side off a little bit, but the rest of you deserve it.

“So here's what I'm doing. This whole Koopa family thing is not an absolute monarchy anymore. Nope, it's gone!” There was near dead silence after that. Lemmy tried not to laugh at the sudden change and continued. “Since I can do that sort of thing. Those guys before me, they were under the control of you know who and didn't have much of a choice besides getting killed. Well, I don't have that problem so it's time for something really cool. The succession laws, or whatever they call them are totally changing too. So here it goes.

“We're going from an absolute monarchy to an elective monarchy. So that means you can vote for whomever you want in the Koopa family to become the next king and queen. Yes, that is all of you. This isn't just restricted to the courts, this is everybody in the kingdom. Aged 14 and up I should add, sorry kids. Haha. I want to make the age low because we have so many orphans that just work better than many of the adults...no offense, but many are pretty smart too. They deserve a voice so they got one. But anyway, here are the nitty details.

“Basically, you can vote for anyone in the Koopa family to be the next Earth King or Queen. Doesn't matter who it is, as long as they are approved by the Blood King and Queen, most are. Those guys run the family, I'll talk more about them in a sec. But basically, an election is held after some period I still haven't made up my mind about, maybe 5 years or something. We're still talking about it. Everyone that can vote then votes and here's the thing that might sour you a little bit. The total vote count of the kingdom goes to 75% of the overall vote. The entire family also casts a vote that is worth 25% of the whole vote. This can be changed when the game is over by you guys if you want, maybe to 100% but for now we need folks who know how it all works. Then when a winner is found, the Blood monarchs make their final approval and that's that. 

“But these Blood monarch guys, let me talk about who they are cause you probably heard them many times but don't know much about them. They run the entire Koopa family and keep everyone in line. That means making sure none of them taking advantage of you guys as well. Right now that's King Larry's job.” Larry made a short wave to everyone below. “And yes, one of them is a human at the moment, her name is Mona. Those were desperate times and we needed someone, but that should change at some point. But anyway, they stop infighting and keep selfish people in check, and appoint others to all these different positions. That includes approving the Earth King and Queen for election, so yes they approve them twice, one before and one after because we know an election run can show how a person really is. Don't worry though, if a Blood monarch abuses his power then the Spirit King and Queen can call him out on it, along with the Nexus being myself. So there's a checks and balances thing in place too.”

Lemmy drew a breath. “The Blood monarchs will go through election cycles too, at separate times from the Earth King's election. However, this election is the opposite because here 75% of the vote comes from the family members themselves. However, you guys still have a voice in this and make up 25% of the vote because the Blood King still has a say over how the Earth King does things, but not directly per se, more like making sure he doesn't do anything stupid. 

“Sooooo...yeah, that's a lot to take in. That's not to mention the committee that we already have in the castle. They run things here, I'm just a part of the board. I don't really sit on top of anything, except my chair at dinner. There's going to be a lower level committee set up for you guys living outside too that will be made up entirely of people like you. That will have different elections too, you'll hear more about that later. So that's the news. I'm sure the enemy won't like any of this, because they have made their bets on the monarchy not changing itself cause then its easier to control whomever is in “charge,” along with all their kids and grand kids. Well, not anymore. It could be anyone now. And all those who want to be king just to make slaves out of people are blocked automatically from election, so don't worry about them. The Blood King can see the minds of his whole family so he already knows. That also means he can see them have sex...” Laughter erupted. “I know, that's not an easy job. Be glad with what you know now.

“Speaking of which, that's another thing. We're going to have a party tonight, but not like those old parties from before...all of this. I want people to appreciate what they have now, and be glad they are still alive. So many people have died already, even right now as I talk, people are dying. But we need to look at the positive. We can't forget what makes life so great, what makes us happy and what keeps us moving forward. So we're gonna have a lot of stuff, the chefs in the castle are getting creative so you'll be surprised when they bring out their latest creations. There's a lot of bands that will jam in and out of the castle, and a few tell me that a replacement for those meds we ran out in the wards has been found, a magical replacement, but they'll be here tonight for anyone interested in wanting to learn how it works. You'll see a few faces that will look familiar, a few may surprise you. Oh, and don't even think about crashing the party. You know who you are. We got this covered. We're going to enjoy our lives with other people and don't plan on ruining anyone's lives for some fear you can't control. Figured I get that out there.

“Okay, I'm done talking. I need water. Thank you for listening and being awesome people. See you tonight!” A round of applause went up as Lemmy made his way to the back of the balcony, where Larry was giving him a slow clap. 

“Well done.” said Larry. “You're tempting me to pour a glass of wine, but this isn't over yet. Don't get drunk just because you can see victory on the horizon, you have to get there first.”

“Yeah I know.” Lemmy muttered. “I just want to have fun and send good vibes to those that need it. Like Vincent, I feel for him.”

“He's not a bad guy?” asked the toad. Elizabeth listened on in silence.

“He's labeled as a bad guy.” Larry clarified. “That doesn't mean he is a bad guy. He's also labeled as a good guy, but what does that mean? It means he's important. He's a wild card, and you don't want to lose wild cards. They are very valuable.”

“But where is he now?” Elizabeth asked. “I know the castle voted him out, but I'm still worried.”

“He's on his way back to the Valley of the Koopa's.” Larry responded.

“Why there?!” Elizabeth said, surprised.

“I can say that now regardless of any spies here.” Larry continued. “Because the house of cards the enemy has is folding right now and there's no way they can save it. That doesn't mean the war is over, battles still need to be fought. The Amura have his back so there's little to no chance of stopping him from entering. He's going in because that is how we will win.”

“Vague.” Elizabeth muttered.

“The whole world is your audience, so everybody is listening.” Larry explained. “You have to be vague and let the other figure out the rest. Don't say something the enemy may profit from. They are always listening too, even right now. But if all goes to plan, they won't anymore. I can see what your cousin is doing, what he's planning on doing, and it is the way forward. Those playing the game now know what I mean. Those who don't ask endless questions that can't be answered directly.”

“Right...I sort of get it now.” said Elizabeth, also realizing that this “game” was a bit beyond her at the moment. “I was just worried because everyone kicked him out and I didn't know what he was going to do.” 

“Hey liz, I got his back.” Ashley's voice said in her mind. “Don't worry about it.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Well thanks. I feel a little better about it now, haha.” By that point, a bunch of people were talking to Lemmy and Larry was talking to other people as well. Deciding to get ready for the party, Elizabeth headed back down to the ground level and looked for Sam in the ward to tell her what had transpired since visiting Erzembar.


	56. Balancing Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final project is expedited.  
> The Forbidden One challenges the old paradigm.  
> Evil responds in like kind,  
> before order turns its head on a dime.

“The renegades are currently positioned on the western entrance to the valley.” said a dark hooded figure.

“His sentience was activated during the full moon.” said another. “All checks pass. The work is complete.”

The Vice nodded. “Good. Bring him before me.” 

Without a word, two UmNaru bowed and swiftly walked out of the room. The wait was short however as what the Vice mused as a walking sack of meat entered the room. Though some of his skin and muscle had rotted leaving only bones in their place, they had been lucky to find him with his eyes and mind still intact. The former Koopaling smiled wickedly. “What does his liege ask of me?” he asked.

“The forbidden one will enter the valley soon.” The Vice explained. “He must not do what was foretold. Wait for him at the apex, and when he approaches to cast his spell, we will gain control before his takes effect. The one never tolerates those who operate outside his control.”

“It will be done.” With that, the undead Morton Jr. disappeared.

“The current status of the new body.” The Vice said.

“It is 75% complete.” came the response. “We have matched his old DNA to the initiates. His growth continues as planned.”

“Time is short.” The Vice said. “The Spirit King has destroyed the core of Erzembar, and now controls its entirety. Hasten the schedule and complete gestation within the next 3 days.”

“Y...yes your liege.” bowed the UmNaru, unsure if such an order could be carried out. The Vice however knew it had to be done. Whatever the one demands must be met.

* * *

In the bright hazy distance a figure could be seen, seemingly watching him from afar. Vincent blinked, but the figure disappeared just as quickly. He blinked several more times. What was that? It couldn't be the UmNaru, he would have felt the dark magic from that distance. Then who was watching him?

“Can I have something to eat?” Tyrendil asked. Vincent turned back to the dark volcanic crags behind him, where Tyrendil was seen resting against a rock with a blank expression. Vincent sighed, his heart wishing for better things. 

“A little bit.” he said, reaching into his pack to pull out a slice of Toadette's dwindling loaf of bread. Handing it to her, he zipped his pack and noticed someone from the Amura camp walking towards him. “I'll be right back.” he said, shouldering the load and walking towards his visitor. It ended up being Ashley, who was also carrying some type of bag with her.

“Hey.” she greeted. “I got you a few things since I figured you would not be returning to people anytime soon.”

Vincent chuckled and took the bag. “Yeah, real people. I appreciate it...I don't know when I'll be coming back.”

“I got to ask you something.” said Ashley. “You're not serious with her, are you? Case a lot of people back home are wondering what you're doing.”

Vincent glanced back at Tyrendil quickly before turning back around again. “I don't want to be too serious with her.” he said after a moment. “But it's hard doing this alone.” 

“Yeah...” she trailed off.

“Honestly, I have no idea where to go after I get this wand made.” Vincent muttered. “I'll probably just wander around forever killing UmNaru and...their source.”

“I'll try to help out as much as I can.” said Ashley. “But we were told not to go into the valley.”

“Yeah I know.” said Vincent. “I heard them.”

“Oh...right.” Ashley remembered that Vincent had telepathy too. “Then you should go and get this over with.”

Vincent nodded. “Thanks for everything.” He turned away.

“Hey, you're not dead yet.” Ashley reminded him. “You'll get out of this fine.”

But Vincent did not reply and walked back to his makeshift camp in silence, unsure about that. Tyrendil had finished her meal and appeared ready to go. “Well then?”

“Yeah...” Vincent muttered, remembering what happened the last time he went through the valley. “Let's get this done. Stay close to me at all times. Only the king is allowed in the valley, so--”

“I know how it works.” Tyrendil said, brushing it off. “And I think you're an idiot for trying.”

“Then why don't you leave?” Vincent asked.

“Because.” she replied vaguely, but Vincent chuckled. “Not funny.” she warned.

“You can follow the idiot then.” Vincent said as he walked past the warning sign speaking of the valley's dangers. “And you can laugh when the idiot dies.”

“I wont.” she said, and the conversation dropped as the roar of many volcanoes filled its place. The sky darkened to a dark grey and Vincent felt like he was walking back in time, but not as the person that he was before. He felt different now, more enlightened and more hopeful despite his fears saying otherwise.

Aside from the volcanoes and the wind, the valley was quiet and nothing else was seen on the path ahead of them. They walked for a ways until a few ancient stone paths were seen crawling up each side of the valley. They had reached the ancient tombs, but so far nothing was seen coming out of the ground.

“It's really quiet here.” Vincent muttered to himself. He had assumed that at first sight of the tombs, the dead would rush towards them but so far that was not the case.

“Something's not right.” said Tyrendil, also sensing that something was off. “They might have laid a trap.”

“Yeah, well...” Vincent looked around and saw to his right a familiar set of conic spires on one of the peaks, similar to what he had seen the last time he ran out of the valley. “That's where I'm going. Come on.” He then started running and Tyrendil tried to keep up with him. They ran to a set of stone paths and Vincent took a guess as to which one went up to the entrance. The steps were large and he found himself jumping up them one by one, clearly made for bigger creatures. They went for quite a ways up before terminating to a flat space about three-quarters up the mountain with a large entrance way leading into the rock. The walls and floor were smooth like concrete, similar to what was seen at John's Castle but of far better construction. Far below, there was still no sign of the dead in the valley.

Turning, Vincent took out his wand from Erzembar and used it as a flashlight as he entered the mountain with Tyrendil following behind him. The ceiling stretched up into darkness, and the walls were lined with empty holders for something now long gone. Here and there the walls opened up into voids that led into other passages. 

“Do you see any writing on the walls?” Iggy asked.

“It would be better if you saw this for yourself.” Vincent responded.

“I would be there if it wasn't a trap for so-called old koops like me.” Iggy said.

“So it is a trap.” Vincent said.

“It's not the UmNaru.” Iggy clarified. “It's by that flaming guy you saw earlier...”

“Oh...”

“Both would attack me right after setting foot in that place.” Iggy continued. “It's like a candle inside a nest of locusts. They would snuff that out quickly, but a candle can still do damage from a distance. Get it? Heh. Keep going. Spring the trap.”

“There's no writing on the walls.” Vincent said, answering his question. “It's all smooth.”

“So I see.” said Iggy. “Then this was not meant for the slave force. Keep going.”

“Slave force?” Vincent's mind echoed.

“A few pole shifts ago when the Naru were still around.” said Iggy. “And the other Koopa's were slaves. I guess they never told you that. Our family's ancestors were giants that originated on the planet Naru, the same one that causes the apocalypse on our rock. We more or less reached their technological level during Bowser's day, so they had rockets, lasers, even nukes. There was--”

“Nukes?”

“Oh, that's right. You guys don't know about them. Basically, they were like a drop of the sun that touched the surface of the Earth, and its breath killed all the rest nearby. I'll tell you more later, but you should focus on the mission for now.” Iggy was reminded of the time he nearly built a nuke after Bowser threw him into an asylum and blocked his claim to the throne.

After a lengthy trek through the corridor, the floor dropped to a set of stairs down a few levels before leveling out again. The hall traveled a few more feet before stopping at a door which had an emblem in its center. Shaped in a circle, a white pearl like object was diametrically opposed with a large black pearl below it at the bottom of the circle. A single letter was seen on the east and west flanks, but they didn't look like they were from any familiar alphabet.

“That's not ancient.” Iggy said to himself, which meant it must have been in the language of Naru. The Spirit Wand however translated the letters for him. “Light and darkness.” he murmured.

Vincent walked up to the door and the emblem immediately glowed. The circle began to spin upon itself until a loud noise was heard and the door parted down the center and spread to either side of the wall. Ahead was a vast space that could not altogether be seen due to the shroud of darkness. In the back corners were two lava flows that poured out into separate pools, and their light illuminated some type of large contraption in the center of the room.

Vincent walked forward, trying to figure out how to light up the rest of the room, but as he did large crystals on the outer walls lit up on their own and everything came to full view. They were standing upon the edge of what appeared to be a large auditorium of some kind, with the sunken center holding a very large device of intersecting rings around a central airy nucleus. Below this device was a ring spanning the circumference with letters etched on, all equidistant from each other. In the back of the room, between two lava flows were a number of spaces that held materials, including different kinds of stone and gems. Some spaces appeared empty, with shallow piles of dust in their place.

“Wow.” was all Vincent could say.

“An inner sanctum of the Gods.” Tyrendil noted as a matter of fact. “The UmNaru will not come here. Sacred grounds cannot be walked upon.”

“Good.” said Vincent. “Then there's only the dead to worry about.”

“They may try to manipulate them.” Tyrendil warned. “And send them here instead.”

“Yeah I thought of that.” said Vincent as he walked to the pile of gems. “The wand I'll make should take care of that. I'll probably have to meditate through the rest.”

“Then I'll guard the entrance.” Tyrendil said as she walked back toward the door, Having already decided what kind of wand to make, Vincent looked for any white gems in the pile. 

“The Amura have a new wand design for melding magic.” Iggy said. “Your uncle Ludwig's been working on them for a while.”

“I don't want to talk to him.” Vincent replied, remembering his treatment at Erzembar.

“Then I'll just send you the schematics.” said Iggy, and at once images of a two-ended wand flooded Vincent's mind. So that's how you can wield two spectrums in the same wand! He didn't like Ludwig personally, but his work here was definitely noteworthy.

Comparing his original ideas to the new ones, Vincent picked up a cylindrical piece of granite previously carved by some unknown method. Along with a large white gem and a pitch black gem, he then walked to the device in the center. “Okay, what now?” he asked.

“Put the staff in the center.” said Iggy. Vincent did just that and the device came to life, with lighted crystals in the interior circumference of the rings powering on. The wand floated up to the central nucleus and held steady. 

“Antigravity...” Iggy muttered, taking note of the letters around the circle. Above each letter was a small depression in the rock. “See those holes above the letters? Put a gem in one, then put the other gems equidistant from each other. Don't forget that you need a balancing crystal if you're working with white melding magic.”

“Right...” Vincent now remembered and walked back over to look for one. Finding a pile of clear crystals, Vincent took one then placed the crystals around the device.

“The 3 letters in the front are for the balance crystals.” Iggy clarified. Vincent sighed and rearranged the crystals before sitting down in front of the device. “I remember this part from Erzembar.” he said.

“Yes, in this case this device will probably magnify your spells, if I understand this right.” Iggy replied.

Crossing his legs, Vincent closed his eyes and focused on assembling the wand together. The 3 gems slowly rose out of their bowls and floated towards the staff in the center. But the closer the white and black gems got to each other, the more stressed and nervous Vincent felt. Trying to affix the gems on either end of the staff, he didn't notice cracks forming until they became audible. 

By the time he opened his eyes, it was too late. The staff exploded into a million pieces and the force sent the gems to the opposite walls of the room, which itself suddenly went dark. “Um...” But the lights came back on moments later. Apparently this was going to be more difficult than he imagined.

“What the hell was that?” Larry clutched his head as a pain had struck him like a lightning bolt, but was gone just as fast. Looking across the minds of his family, he saw that Vincent was attempting to make his wand in the forge. That must have been it. 

“You felt it too?” Iggy asked, then he blinked. “Oh wow, everyone felt it.”

“Everyone?!”

“Well...everyone whose magically sensitive felt it.” Iggy explained. Indeed, there were a number of Koopa's, Mushrooms and otherwise who stopped what they were doing and looked around them.

But Larry was too busy monitoring the valley. “Vincent, you just woke up the dead!” he exclaimed. A multitude of corpses were now coming out of their graves and their crypts and were heading towards Vincent's location. “You are on the clock! Get that wand made now and get out!” 

As Vincent scrambled to pick up the scattered gems, Larry noticed someone familiar in the central courtyard. He had bits of flesh missing, but it was unmistakeable: it was his brother, Morton Koopa Jr., now undead. For some reason, Larry didn't see his mind from before and guessed it was the same magic the UmNaru used to cover themselves. “Those fucking assholes.” Larry muttered to himself.

Morton Jr. himself was confused that the Forbidden One had not reached the courtyard, and instead cast his spell much further west than was anticipated. Still, things could be manipulated. “To the forge!” Morton cried out in an apparent attempt to control them. “That is where your destiny lies!”

“The Forbidden One has risen.” said one undead king, covered in glowing purple armor and towered several heads above him. “You will join us.”

“R-right.” Morton stammered as the king marched off. “Fucking A.” Morton muttered as he strolled along with them. He then realized that he would be better off going himself as he would have an easier time directing activities locally there.

“The dead are coming.” Tyrendil said, and readied her wand.

“I know.” Vincent said, trying to assemble the wand again using a new staff, this time heating it to a high degree with fire magic to make it more elastic and flexible for the gems to harmonize their conflicting energies with. The red hot rock visibly flexed and bowed under the stress of the approaching gems.

“Come on...” Vincent whined, and tried to bend the rock in the center, but instead the staff exploded again and sent the gems in diagonal directions.

“Shit.” he mouthed. Blasts were heard not far down the corridor. The dead had already arrived and Tyrendil was trying to hold them off.

“Ludwig says that it is theoretically impossible to meld polar opposites like that together.” Iggy warned as Vincent walked to the back of the room again. “I would use different spectrums and quick.”

“Bullshit.” Vincent said aloud. “If you can have both marks on one person, then you can have both spectrums on one wand. The only question is how.” He looked around him and the lava flows stuck out at him. There was an idea.

“Tyrendil needs your help!” Ashley called to him as he raised a long piece of lava out of the pool.

“Tyrendil, come back to the room!” he told her telepathically as he raised another long piece of lava from the second pool.

But Tyrendil shook her head.

“Tyrendil!” Vincent shouted before moving the suspended lava pieces into the center of the device.

“If they break the door then we are all dead!” Tyrendil shouted back, now on a retreat back towards the chamber as magic blasts hit an invisible barrier that she erected ahead of herself. “I need you to help me!”

“If I can't get this wand made then we're both dead!” Vincent shouted back. “We can't kill them all...again without it!” He placed the gems back a third time then sat down and closed his eyes. They were minutes away.

“I need help!” she said again.

“Come in here and lock the door!” Vincent ordered. No response. The lava flows spun around each other before he moved one crystal to each piece, and immediately they twirled around each other and twisted like spirals. 

“Tee, cooperate!” he yelled. Still no response, but the sounds of fighting was getting closer. He moved the balancing crystal to the center of the spiraling lava flows and they affixed themselves to it like roots across its surface. With a gem on either end of the flows, both flows now spun rapidly and Vincent wasted no time with the last spell. At once, the entire setup was supercooled and it flashed before a shockwave shot outwards and Vincent lost consciousness.

* * *

Vincent awoke and it seemed that he had gone blind in his right eye as he saw nothing but a bright light in the other. As his vision adjusted, he realized that it was the wand, which despite his uncle's doubts had survived. One end of the room was lit up like a bright sunny day while the other was cloaked in darkness.

Getting up, he reached for the wand and it floated down until his hand clasped its center, which visibly held the balancing crystal. The entire thing was somewhat transparent but with a blackish hue. It reminded him of something but he couldn't place it at the moment as the power of the wand was making his vision go blurry. He tried to gather himself together and focus as his mind slowly adjusted and steadied itself to the new power that ran through it. He became aware of a pair of humming sounds, one low pitch and one high pitch that emanated from the device. After breathing in a few times, he then remembered Tyrendil. He turned.

“Are you he---woah!” Vincent nearly fell on his shell as over 100 dead faces stared back at him in silence, unmoving. He didn't know what to say at first and expected them to attack, but they made no movements and simply stood there, looking at him.

“Where is Tyrendil?” Vincent demanded. A few of them stepped aside and one brought the corpse of Tyrendil Koopa to his feet. A tall Koopa with glowing purple armor stepped up to him.

“The dead do not allow the living to pass.” he said, but Vincent's blood was boiling. It happened again, again!!!

“Her body is intact.” came Iggy's voice. “She can be resurrected.” A white light surrounded her until she disappeared altogether.

“The Spirit King...” one of them murmured.

“Be careful when talking to the dead.” Iggy warned.

“Why can't you do it?” Vincent asked.

“We will only speak with you.” said the Koopa in purple armor. “The Forbidden One of legend.”

“Then tell me who you are and who your leader is.” Vincent ordered.

“I am King Valerian, the 5th King of the 7th Dynasty.” he said.

“And I am Morton Koopa Junior, herald of the UmNaru!” Morton suddenly appeared in the doorway. “You! I knew your dad well, back when he was on the winning team. This little revolt of his will end now and things will go back to what they were, back when the dead and the ancients were respected. Prepare to meet your death!”

The dead all turned and pointed their weapons at Morton. “The Forbidden One will not be destroyed.” came a voice from the hall. Morton turned and found a king dressed in golden armor approach him. Iggy suddenly realized who he was and his eyes went wide. “That's Inauro!” he blurted out, the same guy he met back when he had time traveled to the past.

“And the UmNaru will soon get what they have long deserved after manipulating our family for so long, in the name of serving the one.” Inauro spat. “The One...is the creator, not a single entity like your master's master, promising a cage of fear for endless wealth.” With a motion of his hand, Morton flew through the air past him and landed at the entranceway to the mountain. 

King Inauro walked up to him as Morton groaned. “Tell your master this. The curse of Lethis has been broken. We are now free, and your time...is almost up.” Morton was again flung through the air and tumbled down the giant steps where thousands of dead warriors all across the valley watched him plummet to the ground far below.

“We are free!” Inauro shouted and from the valley came endless shouts and the clamoring of steel. Satisfied, Inauro walked back inside and went through throngs congratulating him until arriving back at the room again.

“What did I do?” Vincent asked himself. For once, he was genuinely scared and didn't know the full ramifications of his actions. But the kings crowded around him, not giving him the time to fully think it through.

“We apologize for the interruption.” said Inauro. “The UmNaru will be dealt with by us as we see fit.”

“Okay, first thing.” Vincent started. “What is this Forbidden One thing I keep hearing about? And second, who is your leader?”

“The one who carries duality in his hands.” said Morton Koopa Sr., who walked into the room. Finally, a face Vincent remembered...but duality? Did he mean the marks?

“There have been many pretenders over the millenia.” Morton continued. “All succumbed to duality. The Forbidden One is neither destroyed nor a destroyer, but a balancer, a unifier, a rectifier of all that has become corrupt through the ages by childish hands who know not what they do. This is your destiny, and you now know it. You are destined to balance what Koopa has wronged.”

“The arms of Koopa have controlled us long enough.” said another King in early medieval dress. “Even in death, the curse of Lethis made us mere puppets under his whim and we served as a source of power for his followers, the UmNaru. With the curse now lifted, their power is greatly reduced. We are free, and follow your judgment to balance this world and start anew, with no God's but merely Koopa's with a blank scroll.”

“Our leader must judge this, Alexander.” said Morton.

“Since Erzembar has shown his treacherous side and aligned with Koopa, the title is no longer his.” Inauro said.

“Agreed.” said Alexander, and the others made similar statements. “Cloak your dark intent with the light of God. A classic example of evil.”

“His son, that traitor Lethis was dealt with millenia ago.” Inauro continued. “The next in line is The Hammer.”

“Yes...” nodded Valerian. “It is the Hammer.”

“Who's that?” Vincent asked. Inauro responded by opening up his palm and casting a spell, in which a scrying spell revealed a very large Koopa walking down the main valley towards the giant steps of the mountain with those dead around him bowing or paying their respects. He had long curled horns along with red hair tied back in a short pony tail, a very big and round physique and many teeth. What stood him out was the gigantic silver hammer that lay upon his shoulder, each butt end covered with a sharp spike with the sides housing various gems.

“That's him...” Iggy said to himself. “That's Marthos. So that's what he looks like. This is as close to a Naru as you will get, Vincent. Treat him with respect, but don't let him push you around.”

“Got it.” Vincent said as a silence fell upon the room. Eventually, Marthos appeared in the doorway and stopped, looking about the room. Compared to most others, he was a literal giant. He eventually looked at the youth.

“So it's you.” he said, walking towards him. He studied Vincent carefully before smirking and turning away. “We all attempt to mimic our fathers, the power being the means to raise our own self for the goal of separation. Separation from the divine love of the creator, the ultimate goal of evil. In the end, the power of evil fails to grow what lives on after death, but instead impedes and stifles one from learning, to advance. How many rulers over the eons fell into the same trap? For the power of the Gods, of control does not help one to grow, as heaven does not make the Koopa who abodes within it, but it is the Koopa that makes heaven, with the knowing how to make it.” He gestured his hand to Vincent “This is the creator, showing us but a reflection of our true selves. What was accomplished under the dictates of Koopa but the lessons learned to focus on the self only? This is the result: spirits remain as children of the universe, claiming to know all but understanding none, malleable to a higher entity seeking control. My father was but one disciple to evil and all of history paid for it, consciousness duplicated in service. Though our spirits now resides elsewhere, the end of Koopa will put us to rest once and for all with your command.” The giant looked at him.

Vincent remained silent in thought. This guy was way above his league.

“Your path is not to forever walk with the dead, but to cure the maladies of the dead.” Marthos explained.

Vincent nodded. “Heaven does not make a person, the person makes heaven. A wand doesn't give your spirit magic, its the...spirit that gives it magic. What it has, is what somebody else already had.” He paused for a moment. “Okay. The first thing is to get some flesh on your bones. It'll get you closer to your old selves...but would also look more pleasing too.”

“As you wish.” The wand flashed for a moment and each of the dead was surrounded by a greenish light that regrew the tissue once lost, more or less to the original extent of their images.

“Now now, this is very appreciated!” said King John Koopa, a rather flamboyantly dressed king with the old castle named after his sake. “Playing the walking corpse was not my forte.”

“We are refreshed with life.” said Beneth Koopa. “But to what purpose?”

“He attends to kill Koopa.” Marthos said. “Using the power of life over death.”

“I want to know a few things first.” said Vincent. “What do the kings and Queens of the three wands have to do with all of this?”

“Hmph. It is of no surprise that the holders of the three do not describe their purpose to you, neither do they explain the wands they now carry.” said Marthos. 

“They went over their positions really quick.” said Vincent.

“The three wands were constructed upon Naru with the sole purpose of controlling the former slave race of this Earth.” Marthos explained. “The claims of enlightenment the wands may bring are but a placebo for the ensnarement of one's will, a job the wands have performed effectively over the eons. What was forgotten? That their creation upon Naru means the magic of Naru runs through them and not that of the Earth. Naru's greater size, four times the Earth's means its magic is as such, thus overrules any grid or bodily matrix constructed. They become consumed by its power and to the whims of any Naru working through them.”

“Well done.” came a voice. It sounded very familiar.

“That voice...it's Koopa!” Iggy exclaimed, but suddenly the Spirit Wand went from white to red and a severe dementia swept through his mind. “Aaarrrrrrrrgggghhh!” He fell to the ground as his body twisted and convulsed.

Before Larry could respond, Genlic itself turned red from the bottom up, along with his black Wand of the Blood. He cringed as he felt his mind suddenly invaded and he too fell to the ground as reality became a blur. He had no time to warn Lemmy what was happening, but by that point it was too late: the smallest Koopaling was also ensnared, though did not appear to be so at first. Penny Crygor fell in a swoon and lay unconscious upon the floor as Iggy Junior wondered what had just occurred. However, Mona attempted to fight back before realizing that her husband was already caught in the trap. Knowing she would lose the battle, she threw the wand to the ground and denounced her position, and the wand dissolved and disappeared. Sighing, Mona turned and looked at Genlic from a distance and knew what she must do.

“My power has run through this planet for countless generations.” Koopa said. “Their happiness brought by ignorance, endless lusts for power and pleasure that create slaves out of Koopa's where none before existed. Enslavement soothes those fears which my bloodline has seemingly forgot to manipulate to their advantage. The existence of The Forbidden One threatens to destroy the framework of control put into place long ago. His failure to die forces me to take direct control of what the Naru once built. All who do not obey the directive will be destroyed. Do you refuse?”

Through the newly corrupted Larry came directives sent to the dead and many of them were now seen with glowing purple eyes. Those kings that resisted Koopa's rule or those working in white magic began fighting back and soon chaos erupted all around the room.

“Let's get out of here and get those not controlled on our side!” said Vincent, deciding to get rid of those in the hallway to make their way out easier.

“Leave it to me.” Marthos said, and his hammer's gems began to glow as he made his way to the doorway. With a swing, his hammer pounded the stone floor and an immense force of air blew through the hall sending everything airborne and flying out the entrance of the mountain. Immediately after, Vincent ran through the hall followed by several kings and their troops. Upon reaching the outside, he saw it was a total mess with troops fighting each other everywhere.

“Secure the ridge.” Marthos ordered and many went upward to fight several who attempted to ambush them from the peak.

“Let's get those not controlled by Koopa together.” Vincent ordered. “Then we head east through the valley. You are my right hand Koopa, and Morton will be my head adviser. Inauro leads the march. Let's go.” He looked at the ants below and shook his head as he began his descent. 

 

Ludwig Von Koopa looked up from his work. Several of his white spectrum wands had suddenly dimmed while others were acting erratically. Noting that those erratic were of the experimental Naru batch, he knew that something was wrong. Coincidentally, a set of feet was heard running by the hallway crying out for Iggy Koopa.

Grabbing one of the experimental wands, Ludwig cast a scry spell upon the interior of Erzembar. He saw within a number of people running this way and that and what appeared to be a psychotic Iggy killing people left and right. Aside from his known dementia, what could cause that...the UmNaru?

Ludwig located several of the tykes running around the place, apparently trying to group up. Roy was spotted in the medical ward, still healing from his injuries though many scars were now healed. Using a teleport spell, Ludwig warped into the ward and Roy stopped pacing.

“Roy, I will require your assistance.” said Ludwig. “Ignatius is under the effects of psychosis due to the influence of some external threat. The Spirit Wand has changed its hue to red, and I suspect an invasion is now occurring.”

“I'll pound him in.” said Roy. “Don't worry about it.”

“That is actually not the assistance requested.” said Ludwig. He held up his wand and showed Roy the scrying spell from before. “Notice that neither the Blood King or Queen has responded, as is their duty.” Ludwig noted. “Penny Crygor is unconscious here.” He pointed to a group of Koopa's surrounding her with her half of the wand also glowing red. “I suspect a full scale invasion of the monarchs is currently taking place, thus we must assume to act independently until their restoration. I shall engage Ignatius myself as there are few who can successfully. I request your assistance with defeating Lemuel.”

Roy frowned, immediately remembering how the little Koopaling messed up his face during the civil war. “He's got the Wand of Koopa...” he muttered.

Ludwig nodded. “And it is reasonable to believe that is the source of the current intrusions, albeit vicariously.”

Roy thought for a moment. “Why can't you do it? I'm no good at magic, and this is all magic.”

“Because the greater population detests my presence due to my past actions in regards to the Koopa Kingdom.” said Ludwig. “Hence the idea to send your person in my stead.”

“You're better at this magic thing than I am.” said Roy. “I'll give them a talk and stop them from messing up your fight.”

Ludwig sighed. “I do not look forward visiting the...old kingdom, but I shall reluctantly engage Lemuel. But first, Ignatius must be dealt with. Follow me.” Ludwig teleported out of the room into a long hallway where people were running left and right. Morton Koopa III appeared from around a corner and abruptly stopped in front of them.

“What is the current situation?” Ludwig asked.

“Well, Iggy's headed towards the control center.” said Morton. “People are trying to stop him from teleporting, and Trent is trying to outrun him.”

“I must ask you to travel to Lemmy's Castle and tell my daughter Elizabeth to assume command from her uncle.” said Ludwig. “She must also speak to the council there about containing the Earth King.”

“Okay, hold on.” Morton said as he touched his temple. Ludwig sighed. Another telepath. He kept forgetting about that ability.

“She's still a little hard to read.” Morton commented. “But she says that Lemmy locked himself in his room and has not come out. There's weird voices coming from...wait, he's in the council chamber now. He says...to prepare for an attack against the enemy. Looks more serious than usual.”

It was an odd trait for the usually happy-go-lucky Koopaling, but to Ludwig it was a key piece of a puzzle he had long sought to assemble, and now he saw the whole picture. Lemmy's seriousness was more akin to Bowser's persona and even his own when the position was vested to him. It wasn't just a quirky observation during his forced resignation at Heaven's Seat either, of seeing the personalities of Iggy and Larry somewhat altered from their originals. While at the time it was suspected to be a well laid plan from Roy, it was also true that Roy stood to be the most manipulated due to his lack of knowledge of magic. Why Koopa had sought to remove Ludwig from power was still a mystery, given the obsessive control he conducted during his short but influential reign that a power hungry ancient would be attracted to. Perhaps it was his mere knowledge of the UmNaru? Or was it his flying castle?

Regardless of the reasons, they had all been pawns to the will of Koopa through the three wands. Bowser was just another puppet, as was his father...countless centuries of control, not even knowing until it was too late...and now the Wand of Koopa was reasserting that same will. That must be the source. How could the magic of these wands override their own? They were of Naru...their magic must have been more powerful than their own. Koopa was born on Naru.

“Koopa will regret not destroying me.” Ludwig said to himself. “I must now engage Ignatius.”

“We're going to group up.” said Morton. “I'm going towards Trent.”

Turning, Ludwig ran down the hallway behind him until he reached a central courtyard connecting many other hallways together. Out of one ran a multitude of people before a magic blast sent them flying to the other side of the room. Iggy emerged sporting a maniacal grin with a glowing red wand in his hand. His eyes glowed white, which Ludwig now knew to be a false light.

Without warning, Iggy sent an attack at Ludwig who easily blocked the spell. Ludwig then cast a purple spectrum spell which managed to mind control Iggy long enough to shoot himself in the face. Falling to the ground, he let out a long yell of pain as Ludwig walked over to him, intending on finishing this quickly. However, Iggy suddenly thrust his feet upwards and kicked Ludwig in the face, throwing him back enough for Iggy to pick himself back up again. The crazed Koopaling wasted no time and sent a rain of acid at the elder, who simply blocked the spell in midair. However, due to the recent expansion into melding magic, Iggy also turned the floor into a pool of purplish acid, forcing Ludwig to levitate himself in the middle of the air. Iggy laughed to himself, thinking he had him and prepared to throw a large bob-omb at him. But Ludwig then unleashed a spell he had just finished chanting, and a whirlwind suddenly surrounded Iggy and lifted him up into the air and breaking his train of thought, canceling his bob-omb spell. Ludwig then sent a blast of Iggy's acid straight at him and the acid swirled about with Iggy screaming with some making contact with his skin. The crazed Koopaling canceled his own acid spell and the purple goo disappeared. Ludwig cast an Earth spell onto Iggy intending to slam him to the floor via heavy gravity, but Iggy reflected the spell back at him and Ludwig himself was slammed to the floor and could not get up. Iggy finally countered the effects of the whirlwind by increasing his gravity and found his feet back on the floor again. He quickly walked over to Ludwig with a fire spell in mind, hoping to end it quickly. But Ludwig caught him with a lightning blast that electrocuted Iggy in place before being sent up by another whirlwind and hurled to the other side of the room. 

Ludwig managed to dispel his own gravity sink spell and stood on his feet again. Iggy was on the floor and did not appear to be moving. Wasting no time, Ludwig raised the corrupted Spirit Wand and encased it using a specialized spell in suspended animation, with a rectangular box of light surrounding it. The wand fired off a number of spells, but as the enclosure was a Naru spell it was of no use.

Remembering where the prison blocks were inside of Erzembar, Ludwig teleported Iggy into one of the cells there, with the walls surrounded by various containment spells.

“What happened to Iggy?” asked one of the Amura, a koopa that walked up to him.

“Ignatius has been put under the control of Koopa.” said Ludwig. “And as such made an instrument to his will. I was forced to defeat him, and is now locked inside one of the containment cells below.

“Why didn't the mark of Amura help him though?” asked the koopa, looking puzzled.

“I suspect the marks are of terrestrial origin and not of Naru, whose magic overpowers those upon Earth.” Ludwig theorized.

“What if we could have marks at that level?” the koopa asked.

Ludwig held out a hand. “Let us focus on the current dilemma. Our strength must be reorganized for a counter assault as soon as possible.”

“It looks like we're meeting up on one of the open balconies.” the Amura said before disappearing. Being an Amura himself, Ludwig saw the “magical trail” left behind and discerning his location, teleported there himself. There, a large group of Amura were assembled with Trent, Iggy Jr. and Ashley in the center. They seemed to be in an intense debate, but none of it was vocal and Ludwig could only put the pieces together from the rumorings of those that surrounded them. He decided not to interrupt.

“Iggy's in the cell now.” Trent telepathically relayed to the others. “Someone tell my dad what's going on, with words.”

“Larry will try to control one of us next.” Iggy Jr. warned. “We should set up a shield around this place.” 

“Yeah, or a despellizer.” Trent suggested. “That thing you were working on.”

“Now would be a really good time to use that.” said Ashley, agreeing also.

“The full scale operation of it, across the campus I mean is still experimental.” Iggy Jr. explained. “Plus it only despells those of this planet's magical frequency. You would have to include Naru's frequency if you want to stop Koopa's attacks directly.” He caught eye of his uncle Ludwig nearby. “Let's ask the guy who beat up my dad.” he said vocally.

“...ask what?” Ludwig responded, frowning.

“I need to know the magic frequency of Naru magic in order to block Koopa's incoming spells with my despellizer.” Iggy Jr. said to him.

“Despellizer?” Ludwig scratched his chin. It often took a simpler mind to come up with simple, yet effective solutions. “If the device performs to what I am imagining it to do, then this is indeed an ingenious idea for your age. Koopa will no longer be able to issue commands to his wands, rendering them useless.”

“Koopa won't even be able to despell the despellizer, because the despellizer would despell the despell before the despell could despell the despellizer.” Iggy Jr. explained. 

“However, this unfortunately would have the unintended effect of despelling all other spells in its vicinity.” said Ludwig. “Including all white magic cast by the crystal pylons and the Amura.”

“The despellizer can be tweaked to include certain spells and let others be casted like normal.” Iggy Jr. clarified.

“Then this invention will be a great impediment against the will of Koopa.” said Ludwig. “I shall give your person the knowledge needed to block Koopa's magic. I also suggest using a device in the vicinity of Lemmy's Castle, as I believe the Wand of Koopa to be the prime culprit in this case of subversion. I shall be traveling to Lemmy's Castle shortly as the Blood King and Queen have not responded to this attack and I suspect the other monarchs to be under Koopa's control as well.”

“Yeah, that's what we're thinking.” Iggy Jr. said. 

“Vincent is moving to attack Genlic.” Trent revealed.

“He doesn't need any help, I mean, he has the biggest army on the planet right now.” said Ashley via telepathy. “But I think we should attack it too.”

“Only with Naru magic.” Trent warned. “And after the despellizer is setup, and after I can get this place to cover you and anyone who wishes to join.”

“You're going to take Iggy's spot?” Ashley asked.

Trent briefly looked at Ludwig before turning back to Ashley. “Yeah, I have to. Penny's out too...” He trailed off.

“Your magic potential is way beyond most of ours.” said Iggy Jr. “If you can fight the Vice and survive, then I think it's nothing to be guilty about. You need someone with high magic potential to do that stuff anyways.”

“It's a little...intimidating.” Trent confessed. “I feel that I'll be fighting the Vice again, soon...but I have to do it to protect the rest of you, so I will.”

“Don't worry, we'll keep Koopa distracted.” smiled Ashley. “Especially with one of those despellizers handy.”

“Now you want two more of them?” Iggy Jr. sighed. “I'm going to be busy for a while. I'll get uncle Ludwig to help me.”

“I'll go get the party set up.” Ashley said aloud. “And figure out how we can get inside of that place without using my dad's Blood Wand.”

“Genlic is of a material that has yet been deduced.” said Ludwig. “And yet one of its pinnacles was broken long ago, legend stating that King Inauro once knew the formula required.”

“Then Vincent might know.” said Ashley.

“How would that youth know of the formula?” Ludwig asked. “It has been lost for millenia.”

“Inauro's with him right now.” Ashley said, but Ludwig blinked, not sure if he heard that right. “Oh, you don't have telepathy.” Ashley realized, forgetting the adults more often than not didn't have the ability. “Here, I'll show you.” She cast a spell in her hand, and the landscape of the Valley of the Koopa's came into view. Living history marched down the slopes and into a long army that made its way to the old Koopa Kingdom. Large kings, seemingly reincarnated back into flesh were amongst the soldiers, and at the front a congregation of them were seen along with a smaller, hooded Koopa. 

“Hey Vincent.” Ashley called over to him with her thoughts.

“...what is this?” Ludwig wasn't sure how it was possible, and yet there they were, marching behind Roy's forbidden child. But how?

“Hey Ashley.” Vincent responded.

“I have a question for you.” Ashley said.

“Shoot.” he responded, looking around him. “It won't hurt.”

Ashley snorted. “We think that Inauro knows how to destroy Genlic, but we're going to send a party there too and we don't know what that magical recipe is.” 

“Let's see if I can get him to spill it then.” Vincent turned towards Inauro at the front of the pack. “King Inauro!” Inauro turned and fell back to Vincent. “What is your wish?” he asked.

“We have another party headed towards Genlic straight out of Erzembar.” said Vincent. “They know that you found a way to destroy it and they're wondering what this secret is.”

Inauro chuckled to himself. “In due time. We have not yet left the valley and are still gathering together. I fear Koopa will respond before we do and we must be ready for what he brings to us. When we approach Genlic, then the secrets will be divulged.”

“Alright.” Inauro wandered back to his position. “Did you get that Ashley?”

“Yeah. We're still going to group up anyways and we'll just wait for that secret before heading inside I guess.” said Ashley.

“We're not out of the valley yet.” said Vincent. “So it'll be a while since we still have to go through the...old kingdom I think it's called, so you should let me know when you're ready to attack cause my mind will probably be busy then.”

“Okay.” Ashley replied.

“...how is Tyrendil doing?” Vincent asked.

“I know Iggy brought her in and she was put into stasis in the ward, but we had to defeat Iggy so we haven't had a chance to resurrect her.” Ashley said.

“That I saw.” said Vincent. “Yeah, this was all my fault. But...I don't think there's any other way to do this.” More kings came down the hills. “I should go.”

“Okay, see you.” The vision ceased and disappeared from her hand. “So that's that.” she said. “Looks like we have to wait for that secret, but we can get prepared in the meantime.”

“And I should get started on those other despellizers immediately.” said Iggy Jr.

“I will go to the control center and get a feel for Iggy's old spot...” said Trent. “And re-harmonize the energies of this place.” The three waved, and Ashley with a large group of Amura following broke away to the right while Trent with a small group headed in the opposite direction. Iggy Jr. however walked up to Ludwig. “So, this is how it works right now...”

* * *

Elizabeth Koopa shook her head as she walked down the hall to her brothers room. There were too many things going on all at once, and most of it due to evil. Then again, she felt it couldn't be helped. The old world was oblivious to this stuff because they were too focused on “stuff” rather than things that mattered, like loving other people. At least uncle Lemmy saw that, but now that he was messed up by this Koopa guy everything was placed on her shoulders and she couldn't get enough help. But if all else failed...she grabbed her head for a moment as she suddenly remembered the spikes of pain that went across her head from earlier. What was Vincent doing? Through a mental debate with her comrades, they thought it had something to do with Koopa, but they weren't sure what. 

Reaching Xavier's door, she pounded on it and waited. Hushed voices were heard on the other side along with some shuffling noises. “Who is it?” came the response.

“It's Liz.” Elizabeth replied. “Sam needs help downstairs cause Shirley's doing other things now.”

“Can't it wait?” Xavier asked.

“You know I told you that Lemmy is not feeling well and I have to do his stuff for a while, but you lock yourself in your room instead and fuck your boyfriend. You know, there's a time for that and it's not in the middle of something like this!”

“But you said its all about love.” Xavier countered.

“Are you that thickheaded? If you're trying to beat me, then you already lost the game Xavier. If you want to be useful and have people like you, then Sam could use help with her music, and her medicine--”

“Fucking shit...” she heard him mutter, and an unintelligible voice was also heard in the background. Elizabeth wondered if she should just kick him out and make him live outside with all the other “poor people,” so he called them.

“Just leave him.” she heard Ashley's voice in her mind. “He won't do anything if you force him.”

“It's his new boyfriend.” Liz muttered. “Ever since they met my brother turned into his bottom bitch and he hasn't done anything around here since. Even right now, when we're going to be attacked he doesn't care.”

Ashley sighed. “It's because he'd rather be a pussy than try to be a man about it.”

“How do you know...oh right, it's your...yeah.” It was too easy to forget that. 

“Yeah. Just leave him alone. He needs to figure himself out.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Nevermind!” she called out. “I'll find someone else. Have fun with your friend!” With no response, she walked away and decided to head to the medical ward himself.

After climbing down several stairwells, she reached the ground floor where the ward was held. As usual, the place was over capacity with many having came from the outside with serious injuries and diseases. She walked past a few bodies being carried out and was reminded of her early days there with Trent and wished to see him again. But they were forced to grow up and do what the adults did, and now they acted better than the adults much of the time. 

In the back corner on a bed was Samantha Koopa, her back propped up with numerous papers on her lap. She didn't notice her sister for a moment, too busy writing something down.

“Hey you.” Liz said. “Don't overdo it. You need to rest. If you could see how red your face is you'd stop and chill out.”

“No one else is going to finish this.” Samantha said, not even looking up. “Dad's too busy doing magic to write this, so I'm finishing it.”

“What is it?” Elizabeth couldn't help but look, but pulled away when she saw the title. “Um, isn't he supposed to do that?”

“Well...yeah.” Sam started, still immersed. “It's not just going to be for mom. It'll be a surprise.”

“Okay...” Liz said. “But you saw a doctor right? My dad sent one to you not too long ago because we're worried about you not getting over this.”

“Oh yeah, he was a little bit dodgy.” Sam said. “Cause he never said how big the problem was. But...I think he hinted that it might be terminal...”

“But he didn't say what it was?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well, he said we don't have modern medical equipment anymore so its hard to diagnose something like this.” said Samantha. “But he thinks its inflammation of something...it could be a tumor even, but he doesn't have an x-ray machine or anything so he's not sure. I just feel weak and that's all I know.”

Elizabeth's heart sank. It was clearly a hidden disease, something a number of doctors now could not find the source of or properly identify. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to...go away, but with the lack of modern medical equipment, what could one do? Use magic? That was probably the last shot outside of finding some kind of homeopathic remedy.

“I'll talk to somebody in the Amura, maybe they can send someone not a part of them here.” said Elizabeth. “Or they can teach me how to find hidden things like this. Dad should have sent a doctor with the Amura anyways.”

“Just accept whatever happens.” said Samantha. “That's what I learned. If I don't make it then...well, you'll have my present.”

“Stop talking like that.” said Elizabeth. “We're trying to save you. I'll try to get a magician to work on this. I was going to send Xavier down here, but he's with his new boyfriend so I can only stop by for a little bit. Lemmy's been...” She leaned in. “He's under the influence of Koopa, that guy I talked about. And now everything is on my shoulders.”

“Then don't let me keep you.” Samantha said. “If the leader is out, then you gotta do something about it. Go.”

Elizabeth sighed. “Don't be so sad.” she said, turning away. “People still love you, you know.” She walked away, leaving Samantha with her thoughts. Liz wished her sister wasn't so depressed sometimes, as it seemed she was resigned to whatever fate the universe may have for her. It was a passive approach to life that did not fit her own style. 

Elizabeth walked back upstairs and headed down a hall towards the council room, but then saw many people running in her direction. “Hey, there you are!” said one, and she recognized her as Toadette. “Lemmy just ran out of the room a minute ago! He said people are here to fight him! Do you know where he went?”

“No idea, I just came to check up on you guys.” said Elizabeth. “Maybe he went outside?”

“Yeah, he had to.” said Toadette. “Let's go!” With that, the group all ran towards the front entrance of the castle.


	57. Mortified by Illusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The master puppet is "discovered."  
> History marches through frozen time to change time.  
> Illusions fall, and self conscious recollected.

Lemmy Koopa walked outside amidst a throng of people that said all things to him, but they were not his focus at the moment. Peering across the forest of tents and “temporary shelters” he saw his adversaries perched atop a hill: Ludwig Von Koopa with Roy Koopa standing behind him. Many people shouted at the duo for their perceived failure to rule, but others, having undergone much and gained wisdom, sensed something else was afoot especially seeing both of the former kings together.

“Kind of risky coming here.” said Lemmy with a frown. “A lot of people don't like you guys and would rather see you offed. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?”

“Cause then you'd be prepared.” Roy shouted.

“Yeah, that would be better.” Lemmy admitted.

“However, considering your haste to meet our persons, it is implied that you knew of our arrival before any said communication.” said Ludwig, his voice amplified by a simple magic spell. “How could this advance knowledge be known aside from magical spies?”

"Your faces are kind of known everywhere." said Lemmy.

"Unfortunately this does not answer the question." said Ludwig.

"Did you bring a bunch of spies from the Amura with you?" Lemmy asked. 

"What would the purpose of that be?" Ludwig asked. "Being telepaths, we already know of events before they transpire."

"Yeah, Liz is really good at that." Lemmy said. "She knows when attacks are going to happen, and to be honest it's a little suspicious since, you know, she's an Amura." Xavier suddenly moved behind her. "We all watch each other though, so it's all good. The thing that confuses me though is this enemy you're fighting: who are they? Are they just the UmNaru, or is it someone else? We had a few UmNaru attack us from the Valley of the Koopas since there were some undead with them. What are you guys doing in there?"

Ludwig did not like where this was going, especially after seeing Xavier in his current state; his son did not seem like his normal self. He needed to break this current game of charades, and to do that he decided to do a risque move.

"Oh, we do indeed have someone going through the valley." said Ludwig. "Though it is entirely unintentional that those of evil who do not...cooperate attack those settlements not caught in the current conflict. Here is the reason." With a wave of his wand, Ludwig cast a scry spell again, but this time the image took over a large portion of the sky above. And seen within were the dead marching down the eastern eaves of the valley, many thousands in all along with the dead kings which is what drew the crowds attention. Lemmy's eyes went wide at the sight. 

"The headaches those of you had felt merely hours before is the beginning of the revolution against the one who has controlled the family." said Ludwig. "And subsequently, yourselves."

"You are sending the dead here?!" Lemmy asked.

"Not so, as they are headed eastward." said Ludwig. "Soon the rule of those above will be ended, and this world will obtain its long sought freedom. I must ask why you would believe an individual such as myself would bring the walking necropsy here into the citizenry when they are largely unaware of such activities currently taking place?”

Lemmy did not respond; the words did not come and for some reason he couldn't think of any. Most people seemed confused as to what was going on, though a few in the know knew what was going down, and decided to largely say nothing, aside from one or two shouting about the Amura's plans.

“Is it due to my failure to disclose the UmNaru's influence over my person during my days as king?” Ludwig asked. “Hardly a surprise, considering their degree of control during those days, though this has waned as of late.”

“I wouldn't even bother trying to tell them.” said Lemmy. “It's just, too complicated and they wouldn't get it.”

“I do have faith for the mental capacity of the remaining citizens of the Koopa Kingdom.” said Ludwig. “And, considering these times and the passing of the so-called 'End of the World,' I believe such explanations not only holds merit to our listeners, but is wholly deserved for their ears. Their systematic control over the monarchs during the past centuries, including King Bowser and my own person--”

“You know, I don't like it when other people try to direct my kingdom, especially when they're not a king anymore.” said Lemmy. “I need you to leave before people start freaking out. Oh yeah, I don't want your kids staying here anymore either, a lot of people don't. It would be good if they found a better home.”

“This would be a possibility if my eldest son were not currently under mental control due to a power, ironically uncontrollable by yourself.” said Ludwig.

Lemmy again did not respond, but Xavier stepped forward shaking his head. “Bunch of shit.” he muttered. “I'm not controlled by anyone. All the Amura are blind and controlled, aren't they? I've watched my sis and realized how blind she is to everyone's suffering out there, always having to do her duties instead.” He got uncomfortably close.

“Back off.” Elizabeth warned him. 

“Why should I?” Xavier asked. “You're just another...enemy around here.” He moved and swung his wand at her, but Elizabeth dodged and instead cast a spell at his legs, and he suddenly collapsed to the ground crying in pain. Lemmy turned towards Elizabeth but Ludwig caught the Koopaling's neck in an invisible grip and raised him into the air. With another spell from his melding wand, Ludwig managed to remove the Wand of Koopa from Lemmy's shell as Lemmy grabbed onto the Wand of the Earth, preparing to defend himself. But he was too late as a gust sent him flying against the back wall, dropping the Earth Wand in the process.

“Do not touch it!” Ludwig warned Elizabeth and she backed away as Lemmy struggled to get up. As Ludwig cast a suspended animation spell around the Earth Wand and encased it inside a rectangle of Naru magic, Lemmy bolted for the Wand of Koopa until he and the wand suddenly disappeared altogether with a flash. Ludwig blinked: that was not what he expected.

“Wha? Where'd he go?” Roy asked. Ludwig traced his younger brother's magic signature and found a fading trail of magic headed towards Genlic. “Damnit.” Ludwig muttered. He wished that Iggy Junior's despellizer was finished, otherwise Lemmy might have been saved and the fight averted. “It appears that Koopa has chosen to re-consolidate his strength rather than face us in conflict. This necessitates an attack upon Genlic as soon as possible.”

“What the hell's going on?” came a cry and many similar, with Lemmy's signature trail left visible for all to see. Xavier blinked and wondered what the hell had happened to him. Elizabeth met with Toadette who ran out to the balcony with a number of people.

“Lemmy has been transported by the master of the UmNaru into Genlic.” Ludwig explained. “He is thus the next target along with Genlic itself. I will go to assist those who will conduct the upcoming invasion. I suggest continuing the ruling council as before albeit without Lemmy present, instead consulting my daughter Elizabeth, Lemmy's former right hand Koopa.”

“Well, we need someone who knows this background stuff to tell everyone what's going on.” Liz said to her dad. “Because I don't even know the total picture of this war you guys are fighting.”

“Very well.” Ludwig teleported the Earth Wand back into Erzembar alongside its Spirit Wand cousin.

“I'll do it.” Roy offered. “I know most of it.”

“The former King Roy will explain to you the hidden war that our monarchy is currently engaged in, and will serve to protect the kingdom from future attack from the UmNaru or otherwise. I am now off to prepare for the assault upon Genlic. Thank you for your attention and understanding.” Ludwig disappeared, leaving Roy to himself and a number of people shouting a variety of words at him. Deciding to get a better vantage point, Roy teleported onto the balcony and looked at Xavier, who was still on the ground. “Get up.” Roy commanded. “Known stronger homos than you. Get up. Don't disgrace your family.”

“Fucking...” It was his uncle again, but judging the amount of faces looking at him, he decided to get up. “I don't know what the fuck I just did, alright?”

“So? We're fighting a war.” Roy said. “Shit happens. Get up, beat up, heal up.” Roy turned to the crowds, and Xavier rolled his eyes and sighed with annoyance. Elizabeth caught sight of a Koopa running through the crowds trying to shout something at them. “Hey Roy! It's Morton! The little one. He says the UmNaru are coming!”

“What? Is that this mind shit again?” Roy asked.

“...yeah. He just told me. They're coming out of the crags.” said Elizabeth. The crags to the left had a number of creatures coming down them in the distance and here heading in their direction, along with figures with long black robes with hoods.

“Tryin' to stop me from talking.” Roy muttered.

“I'm sending Amura in.” said Elizabeth. “I don't know how much they have left though.”

On a hill some distance away, Roy saw someone standing there looking towards him. He looked vaguely familiar. “Who's dat...” he wondered.

Elizabeth looked in his direction and cast a scry spell, but when he saw who it was Roy snorted to himself. “No shit.” he said out loud. Good thing Ludwig left him in charge. “They brought Morty back. I'm gonna take care of him.” 

“Incoming!” shouted a voice as a fireball had been launched at the castle.

* * *

The end of the valley had been reached, with the crags opening up to the familiar view that Vincent had thought he'd never see again. It was the beginning of all his nightmares, and yet he walked now with greater ones, albeit to most other people. Their numbers made his struggles fail in comparison, though their own problems eased his pain for it seemed that everyone had their own issues to overcome. Still...

“Frozen again.” Valerian commented. “Frozen in sleep, frozen in awakening.”

“What happened to it???” King John ran past him to the castle, with the wall that once faced them having collapsed long ago along with other damage done by the pole shift. “My castle! Surely this must have been a prank, a skit! What of the treasury, the instruments, the music? Who could have done this...” John slumped forward.

“Let us search the magic repositories.” said Alexander. “And see what remains, as any aid against the greatest enemy shall be of use.” Many of Alexanders men then entered the castle along with others from different eras. Vincent walked forward into the former garden of the castle, now a snowy derelict largely buried in ice. Even the altar that had burned most of his family was now deep under and would take much work in uncovering.

As Vincent walked past the largest mausoleum, its door suddenly smashed open and flew outwards across the snow. Out stepped a tall woman with spiky blonde hair pointing upwards as well as below her neck. Like the others, she had the gift of life given to her and Vincent began to realize how binding that spell had been.

“What in the hell happened here?” she asked. “And where is Bowser?”

Morton Koopa Sr. recognized her immediately and stepped forward. “Clawdia,” he began, “It is the end. We now march against Koopa.”

“The last battle?...so it is the end.” Clawdia realized.

“Bowser was never buried inside of his tomb.” Morton continued. “Neither is he with us on this march. His fate remains largely unknown.”

“I don't know where he is.” Vincent admitted, wondering if he should talk to Ashley.

“And you are?” Clawdia asked.

“Vincent, a son of Roy.” he said nonchalantly.

“My Roy?!” she exclaimed. “Then I haven't been dead for too long after all! Oh, Roy was my favorite, I wish I could hug him again.”

“Then you must be my grandma.” said Vincent. “Well, its a long story, but we're going to Genlic...and we really should get going now. I don't like hanging around here too long...”

“Genlic...the Blood King is trapped by them.” said Clawdia. “The Blood King...it's Larry! It's just like how Bowser fell into their trap, even with his intentions...” She trailed off, too sad to see her own children caught up in the old political games. The dead began to exit the mansion with a few goods in their hands.

“We have acquired wands long neglected by our successors.” said Alexander. “It is fortunate they were so ignored and forgotten.”

But Vincent was quiet, a sense of foreboding sweeping over him. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward and the others made notions and followed him as Morton filled in Clawdia, Bowser's wife of what had occurred since their partial resurrection.

They moved into the former Koopa Kingdom, with the volcanic clouds gradually decreasing towards their right as the crags widened. The sky was covered with a layer of bright white cloud and snow fell amongst the ruins of what remained. Twisted metal and stone, the remains of buildings not devoured by nature stuck into the sky at every angle with the ground long buried by snow and ice at an unknown depth. The snow now accumulating was a little deep, running to Vincent's knees and he constantly used wind magic to clear the path ahead of him. The whole area was quiet save for their footsteps and the occasional gust of wind. No one else was seen in the frozen waste, not even a corpse which Vincent now figured were buried below them.

At length, they reached a large body of water that stretched in both directions before them, but the ruins continued even into the sea...this was the sea? It was much closer than Vincent had remembered it, back when he was held hostage at the castle. The pole shift seemed to change many things that, in his struggle for survival he did not notice at first. But this could not be ignored: the sea had crawled inland, far inland. The south of the old kingdom had less snow than the north, which made him remember seeing a map of the new world some time after his initiation into the Amura. 

“That means...” He took his new wand and tried to cast a scrying spell. His vision suddenly changed and it seemed he was quickly flowing over the ocean in front of him into the distance, but looking down he saw that his body was not there and that the spell in this form was no longer vicarious, but had a direct effect. After a moment, he stopped himself from moving as he realized that what he was looking for was not there. During his imprisonment, he remembered being able to see Genlic from the castle windows, being situated across the sea at a distance but now it was gone. Vincent dispelled and his vision rapidly returned to his body and he almost fell over backwards. “This thing is powerful.” he managed to say.

“What did you see?” Morton asked him.

“Genlic is not there.” Vincent replied. “The world has changed.”

“In the dance with Naru, the land moved to new homes.” said Inauro. Vincent suddenly remembered that Lemmy had given him a map of the new world before his visit to Ludwig's Castle. That's where he saw it! He immediately threw off his pack and searched for it. “Dur dur dur...” He felt stupid, but at the same time he felt that the power of the wand still had an influence over him, muddling his thinking. Retrieving the map, Vincent unfurled it and looked for the old Koopa Kingdom. He saw that part of it, the northern half was now in the polar circle, having rotated roughly 90 degrees counterclockwise. Genlic had also rotated counterclockwise and was now closer to the equator. “It's farther away than I thought.” Vincent admitted.

“This is a map of this new world?” asked Cameron Koopa, the father of Morton.

“I was told it was drawn before the pole shift.” said Vincent. “I guess they knew where all the plates would go.”

“Then that is where we will go.” said Cameron.

“Hey Vincent!” came Elizabeth's voice. “We're having a lot of trouble here...” In his mind, Vincent saw the UmNaru besieging Lemmy's Castle with their mages and creatures, and those inside the castle erecting a magical barrier around the place to neutralize their attacks. But the majority of the populous camped outside were caught in the attack and were fighting desperately to save themselves, with only a few Amura and those from the castle free to help. Roy was seen punching a large dark Koopa in the face and sending him down an embankment. It seemed Koopa was beginning to go all out to retain his control.

Vincent turned and looked at the dead army for any ideas.

“We see what you see.” said Beneth Koopa, a tall bald headed king with a wrinkly face. “And I see a purpose built come to light.” He took out his magic wand and it lit up before a small rumbling was felt around the area of Lemmy's Castle. Deep below the surface in the tomb of Beneth, numerous towering crystals lit to life and, congregating their mass of energy together shot upwards through the soil and to the surface unawares. The UmNaru suddenly halted and one by one dropped to the ground faced with mental and physical pain that corroded their bodies from the inside out. Morton fell to the ground in agony as his body completely fell apart and collapsed in a pile of flesh and bone. Roy was not spared however and felt his skin burning, but the pain was far less than experienced than with the Wand of Koopa. “You ain't coming back from that.” Roy spat. “Rest in pieces Morty.”

“What the hell happened?” Vincent cried out, not able to put his head around it.

“It would seem the new kingdom has taken residence within my castle.” said Beneth. “Since hearing the call, I have watched over their progress. Their panicked minds do not understand the workings of the light and manifested darkness to them through their fears. The harmonizer will protect them during this last battle.”

“Indeed, the mechanics of Koopa will come into full use with our presence.” said Marthos. “We must cross the sea to the eternal fortress, and do battle with those under the control of Koopa before gaining entry.”

Several kings then stepped up and using the magic in their wands, manifested into existence strange platforms that rose above the ground by some kind of levitation. Ushered by them, Vincent jumped on one of the platforms along with the “cabinet” he had chosen for himself. Others in the back cast their own spells, and in front of him he saw the ocean water suddenly part to both sides for a distance, creating a bit of an artificial tunnel to pass through. Yet another spell was cast over everyone and Vincent found himself surrounded by a whitish bubble.

“We shall bend the hands of time to hasten our journey.” said Marthos. “All that remains is your command.”

Vincent took a look with his mind at what his cousins were up to. Lemmy's Castle had calmed down, though Beneth's “harmonizer” was now perpetually running to keep out the UmNaru who would have tried to counter attack again. Erzembar was also being attacked by the UmNaru, though with the pyramid's technology this seemed to be less of a threat and they were successfully being held at bay.

“Okay, let's go.” Vincent said, giving the command. The platforms moved forward on their own and traveled towards the parted ocean waters with an increased speed, and Vincent anticipated the cold water hitting his skin. But as the platforms submerged and the water hit him, it washed around the bubble created around him instead and he found himself in a world under the ocean no colder than before. Behind them, the armies of the kings were somehow walking faster, and were able to keep up with their speeds which were much faster than running speed. It was a combination of ancient Naru spells that had been lost to time.

The rest of the city that had been lost to the pole shift was now clearly visible to them in a state of dilapidated damage. What was seen previously before the shift was also apparent, albeit now with the effects of the sea taking its toll on the former infrastructure of Koopa City. Passing through one of the broken streets was to Vincent like traveling through some kind of museum that he learned had existed during those times, except now stood as an image of the past that slowly fell away to the new world that took shape everyday. He felt himself get a better idea of how the city used to function if the buildings were more upright and were filled with people. Vincent began to imagine the complexity that went into building a system like the old kingdom, and he began to realize how easy it was to get one's self “lost” in such a system.

“So that's what it looks like.” said Ashley's voice inside of his mind. “I always wondered how they lived.”

“It feels like they weren't in touch with reality.” said Trent. “That's what the buildings say. They didn't build with nature, but against it.”

“Yeah, the materials there, metal alloys rusting like that and rock...a lot of that, what remains intact anyway looks like it was mostly cosmetic.” Iggy Junior added in. “They probably didn't measure the resonant frequencies for any of this, and see if they worked with their own frequencies. It's like they were built to stop what nature intended and with little else in mind, so yeah, Trent is right.”

“But...what were they thinking to build stuff like this?” Ashley asked.

“They were living inside of their dreams.” Vincent responded. “Inside of their own heads. I saw a lot of the older people act like this. They only help others out if it matches what dream is in their head, but their dream is their number 1 desire. Liz's mom is like this. One foot in their minds, one foot in reality to make what's in their minds become real. Our race lives inside of their heads...but all dreams end. I don't think the adults understand that. All dreams end. They just keep going and going and going. I saw that a lot with the UmNaru.”

“They don't understand that the only thing that grows and never dies is spirit.” said Trent. “Everything else dies or transforms.” This caused some introspection among the dead, as many had borne witness to their lives falling apart while others had been through prior pole shifts and knew the truth now spoken.

“Things grow, build, decay and die.” Trent continued. “What matters is now. Now is the only time that can change time.”

“We march now to change the future.” said Marthos. “So your generation of our race can be free of the illusions wrought and webbed by Koopa, and point to the road of liberation. I sense an increasing brotherhood among your kind, a selflessness not as apparent in our earlier years. What this source may be, perhaps as star spirits from the heavens, then it is a welcome reprieve from our friend's above. This would not be the first time.”

Vincent was silent, not wanting to tell them of the future of the Koopa race he overheard over the “thought waves,” but the dead were now all talking to each other in the back about such things; they had already read his mind and knew what lay in store for the Koopa's in the future. Eventually, Marthos slammed the handle of his hammer on the platform. “Silence! The will of the star spirits, those more wise and enlightened than ours is not for us to challenge, lest we be as children revolting against the order of parents. In their light, we are as such. This is the end of time, the time of the Koopa, long awaited within the annals of history. To expect any less is foolishness. Let us instead clear the way for the new race to prosper. As a future Spirit King once said, everything dies and transforms, but only the soul survives and evolves.”

Trent shook his head. “I'm not--”

“I sense it.” said Marthos. “Already married to the concept, it is all but spoken and made so. Perhaps, with the barring of the three wands it will entail different responsibilities than in the past. Already you are willing to use your strength for the attack despite all difficulties to one's self, a sign of a star spirit incarnate.”

“Even if I wanted to, I can't use the Spirit Wand because its under the influence of Koopa.” said Trent. “New ones would have to be made and there's no time for that right now. I have my own wand that I can use.”

“Then we shall press our attack as is.” said Marthos. “We already are drawing close to the fortress.” Vincent saw that the buildings had disappeared while they were talking and were replaced with sand and rock, along with debris fields that spanned in either direction, wreckage of the tsunamis that hit the coastlines. Ahead, in the distance an island of rock with a large black fortress was seen coming closer to them.

Inauro nodded. “Now is the time to attaaauuuugh!” He suddenly flexed about wildly along with a number of troops in an apparent attempt of mental control. The bubble around Vincent started to flex and blink and he began to cast his own protection spell with his new wand.

Inside of Genlic, a corrupted Larry Koopa snickered to himself as his plan was so far flawless. “Death at sea!” he said out loud. “So close yet so far! This is where the armies of history will rest, right at my doorstep!”

The bubbles broke and the sea rushed into its place, sending them all into the water. Vincent finished his incantation moments later and a new bubble surrounded him, allowing him to float in the middle of the water, but the dead, losing their traveling platforms fell to the sea floor below. Marthos then took his hammer and thrust it downward with himself to the bottom, and immediately there was a loud boom and a wave of force was sent at supersonic speeds at Genlic. It broke out of the water and slammed into the fortress, rocking Larry from his feet and onto the floor. The mind control spells now broken, the dead regathered themselves and recast their protection spell, again surrounding themselves with air bubbles. The spires of Genlic started to glow white and clouds formed above them, an apparent attempt to strike them now imminent. 

“Prepare the attack!” Inauro shouted and his men brought with them parts they had carried with them all along and they began to assemble their weapon. Others of older stature began casting Naru class spells of protection against mind magic.

“Ashley, watch what he's doing!” Vincent said, but immediately after a spire upon Genlic fired a white bolt of magic at the party. Perhaps out of impulse, Vincent hovered forward and tried to block the beams path with his wand before it could enter the water. The beam halted to his amazement, though the power behind the attack combined with the wands power was not easy to maintain.

“So that's how they do it...” Ashley murmured. “Hold on Vincent! We're going to--” Another spire fired directly at Erzembar, then curved slightly midair before it traveled straight through the Temple of Marthos. The upper portion of the temple collapsed upon itself, sending a rain of enormous chunks of rock to the running denizens below. Trent, having since deflected the UmNaru attackers immediately sent himself out to help and attempted to deflect the falling stones from hitting anyone.

“Now!” Inauro ordered and the weapon, resembling a barrel type launcher unleashed a stream of intertwining magic that exited the water and directly hit the spire attacking Vincent. In a flash, the spire snapped in half and fell onto the roof above.

“What?” Larry turned and saw that Inauro had destroyed the so-called indestructible. It seemed they had become impervious to any form of mind magic. “Shit.”

“There is a secret way inside of Genlic.” said Valerian. “If the quakes have not destroyed it. This way.” A number followed Valerian to a sheer cliff face that stuck into the water, the edge of Genlic Island and began to look for the way inside.

Larry knew that attacking the dead again would make him lose spires, so instead opted for a different strategy. He fired a beam from another spire at the Temple of Erzembar, and Ashley and her crew rocked for a moment. “Is this thing ready yet?” she asked.

“Just about!” came the cry from one of the Amura magicians working on the device. “But we can't fire with this thing blocking our path!” Indeed, the beam was specifically targeting them, and while blocked by a barrier from Trent for the time being, another spire was preparing to fire.

“This is where I come in.” said Iggy Junior. “It is finally ready. Despellizer activate!” He turned a lever and after a moment the spire beam suddenly retracted its path many kilometers away by some invisible force until it came to a dead stop in the far distance.

“Nice!” Ashley exclaimed. 

Vincent in the meantime had also been reading Inauro's mind and decided to try the spell for himself. It was a type of melding magic of Naru base, but with his new wand that would be no problem. Reciting the incantation in his mind, the wand fired beams from both ends that met in front of him and intertwined about themselves as they shot towards the spire firing at Erzembar. On impact, the spire shot out electric arcs but it was not enough. Vincent modified the spell and the new beam successfully broke the spire, sending it falling onto the roof as well. Valerian's men meanwhile were using earth magic to blast the ground at the foot of the cliff, sending large amounts of dirt into the water behind them. Evidently, the door was buried.

“The entrance lies buried, but not far from the surface.” Valerian said, confirming his thoughts.

The other spire fired at Erzembar, but fell short of its intended target due to the despellizer. Copying what Inauro and Vincent had done, Ashley fired their weapon, and it traveled alongside the beam until it hit and destroyed the spire with a moderate explosion. Only a few remained. “Now we just need to get in.” she said out loud.

Suddenly, Valerian and his men were sucked into the ground by an unknown force. “Valerian!” Vincent shouted and immediately went after him along with a number of kings and queens, including Clawdia. They were spit out by the raging current into a very large room that was rapidly filling up with water. The walls were similar to those found on Genlic's exterior and Vincent knew that they were finally inside. At length, the pressure found its equilibrium and the water stopped flowing inside. Vincent looked around for an exit and saw the room was actually several stories tall with exits high above them. Balconies encircled the perimeter, and on those a number of figures were seen running across shouting out orders.

“UmNaru.” Valerian noted, and at that they all attacked at once, sending fireballs, iceballs and even electricity into the water. Before the bolts hit however Vincent levitated himself out of the water and repeated the spell back at them, with bolts attracting themselves to any reachable target. Dozens of UmNaru were electrocuted simultaneously and most fell to the ground dead. By that point, the kings and queens jumped up to the second level, some simply jumping out of the water while others forced a stream of water to the level before freezing it while Vincent and a few others merely teleported. The remaining UmNaru retreated out of the room. “There are UmNaru in here.” Vincent told Ashley. “Hurry up, will you?”

“Coming!” Ashley replied. “Vincent is already inside!” she said out loud.

“Then we ourselves must be moving.” said Ludwig, coming into the room with a despellizer under his arm. “The second despellizer is now built and ready for use. Though regrettable that the first could not be finished in time for the conflict with Lemuel, this outcome I imagine will be quite different. Let us now gain entry into Genlic.” 

Ashley cast the melding spells and the weapon shot out towards the eternal fortress. The intertwining beam hit one of the upper levels and blasted its way through the outer wall, shaking Larry and prompting him to immediately head for the blast zone. 

“It is a success.” Ludwig blinked, amazed that something had been finally found to destroy it. “With a hole in the magical defenses of Genlic, we can now teleport.” They all began to teleport inside en mass. Ludwig himself disappeared and reappeared inside the black fortress with a look of wonder. At length, he huffed. “It has been some time since my previous visit.” he commented. “Yet it is still a wonder the solution for breaking this unknown substance has been found, at least magically speaking.”

“Can we worry about that later?” Ashley said, looking down the hall. 

“As you wish.” said Ludwig. “Though this puzzle had long remained unsolved for centuries.”

“He's coming.” she said, and moments later Larry appeared at a distance in front of them. There was a faint purple glow in his eyes, reminiscent of UmNaru control. “What is this? Back for retribution?” Larry pulled out the Blood Wand ready to cast a spell to imprison them, but Ludwig then activated the despellizer and by the time Larry attempted to cast the spell, the wand suddenly fizzled at the tip.

“Huh?” Larry blinked, then suddenly he yelled out in pain as the mark of Amura burned his skin, now free to work its magic as the spells of control over him disappeared. He dropped the Blood Wand and clutched his hand, stumbling backwards in a stupor, his mind under revolution. 

“Do not touch it.” Ludwig instructed, after resisting feelings of his own revenge against his younger brother. As with the Earth and Spirit Wands from before, the Blood Wand became entrapped in suspended animation and was then teleported to Erzembar. “I must say that Iggy Junior deserves the credit in this situation.” Ludwig admitted. “As without such a device, a battle would have been inevitable.”

“We got rid of the UmNaru for now.” Vincent told Ashley.

“We're on the upper levels.” Ashley said to him. 

"All that magic disappeared though. Is that the despellizer?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah, Ludwig activated it." said Ashley, looking at her dad who seemed absorbed in his own thoughts, though the pain had subsided.

"Looks like I failed." said Larry. "And Iggy, and Penny, and Lemmy, the master puppet. And..." He looked down the hall and found Mona staring back at him. "The wands are a prison." he continued. "Chosen to wield power, you become his slave in return. When he gave me that wand, he just made me the ultimate slave to his will, just like he was. The monarchs are the losers while everyone else walks free." He snorted. "I should have seen it. We all should have seen it. The Wand of Koopa? Really? I knew it, but did nothing. It stayed in the back of my mind and something would always keep it there if I tried to pull it out, someone asking me something, something happens to interrupt me, all of it. So my thoughts were controlled despite what I tried to do. Does any of this matter then?" He stood up. "If everyone's thoughts were controlled, then does any of this matter?" He looked back at Mona, and noticed a legion of the dead standing behind her and she seemed completely oblivious.

"Mona, don't look behind you." Larry told her. "Just walk towards me."

"...okay." she nodded and did so, but couldn't help but turn around after reaching him. "Holy crap." Her face went pale at the sight but no other words could escape her mouth. At the front of the pack was Vincent who merely looked at them. Hidden within the pack was Clawdia who merely looked on as the situation unfolded. Though wanting to make herself known to her children, her better judgment told her to let things take their natural course.

"I guess you've come to rip my head off." said Larry.

"A just punishment for what you deserve." said Valerian.

"Except you would be doing Koopa's bidding." Larry pointed out. "And be no better than the puppets we all are. Were, rather. All of Koopa's spells do not work here, not even his little lightning shows he likes to do. If you act, it's out of your own free will."

"Indeed, we are puppets of our own upbringing." Marthos said, appearing from the back of the crowd.

"So you're Marthos." said Larry.

"One whose thoughts were controlled cannot be blamed." said Marthos. "For it was not one's true intention. There are those with us who do not understand this principle, the cause of the effect who would harm you."

"And they wont." said Vincent. "They wont hurt anyone here. They were lost in a world they couldn't control."

"Finally, someone else gets it." said Larry.

"Despite being appointed as head, I feel it wiser to leave the position to you." Marthos said to Larry. "For this is a matter controlled by the living."

Larry frowned. "After what happened, I just feel like resigning actually."

Ludwig stepped forward. "The Earth monarchs are replaceable, even the Spirit monarchs are replaceable, with their positions being filled albeit temporarily by our prodigy. However, your person is currently irreplaceable and I strongly urge you to reconsider your decision. The only alternative in my view would be myself, and my person is not specialized in intricate family politics such as yourself. Furthermore, your position is not suited for children, even as a temporary substitute due to the intricacy required which the majority of adolescent minds are not developed enough to handle."

"I came to see if you were alright." said Mona. "Not to see you quit."

Larry laughed. "If that's what you want." he said to her before turning to the others. "Then, my first order as a free koopa is that as long as Koopa exists, then the monarchs will no longer exist. No more Earth, Spirit or Blood kings or queens. It's the wands that made them, made them like this." He pointed to his horned head. "And I know this is Naru blood that runs in the family line, so all of this is just an excuse to keep the Naru's power over the "slaves" until Naru does return. But they will never return, so what's the point of them now? The entire point of the wands was to activate our Naru genetics so their millenia old policy can continue. Not anymore. I will not let any of our kids grow these horns just to have their thoughts directed, and I would also bet that the new race had those genes culled out of them a long while ago."

No one said anything. "There are no gods, only koopa's." said Larry. "A so called god such as Koopa must be destroyed."

"That's what we're going to do." said Vincent. "But I think this would be a smart time to get some rest. I'm exhausted and haven't slept since visiting Ludwig's Castle.”

"I do not understand the value my old construction may now have." said Ludwig. "Save as a shelter, considering the dilapidated state it is now in, and I do not wish to imagine what has been vandalized since my last visit."

"To visit the core and see what we haven't been told." Vincent said bluntly. Ludwig shifted his weight in annoyance, but with an army of dead behind the youth, he decided to stay silent and keep his thoughts to himself.

"There's another one here." said Ashley.

"Yes, the original." said Larry. "If you want to look at it, I'll let you. But for now, I'll take you up on that offer. The despellizer has basically made all of Koopa's spells worthless so he can't attack us here. The only problem is Lemmy, but I don't think he'll do anything to him. He's already been pretty useful to him so far. Let's get something to eat."

"The dead do not sleep like the living." said Inauro. "But we will honor your wish and protect you against any UmNaru who might attack during your slumber." Indeed, the cloudy sky was already darkening and many were beginning to get hungry.

"There is a way to get a full nights rest in only a few minutes." said King John. "Mmm, 10 minutes to be more precise. Perhaps 15 minutes for those indulgent in dreams."

"But how can we trust that our party will not be harmed during the process?" Ludwig asked.

"By me saying that you will not harm or take advantage of any of us in this room." said Vincent. "I like this idea better. Leaving Lemmy down there for half a day is just a bad idea. That's what I feel."

"Yeah I agree." said Ashley. "We should get down to wherever Koopa is as soon as we can."

"It is a simple trick of the mind." John smiled. "Found on this planet, and not on that giant comet. You will all go under simultaneously and then awaken as if you had just blinked, and yet be fully rested! Do you wish to try?"

Larry sighed. "It isn't the first time today I was mind controlled, I guess it's not the last. Yeah sure, hit me with your stuff." Ludwig then adjusted the despellizer to only allow magic from John, as the rest had been blocked automatically.

At that, John cast a purple spectrum spell and Vincent felt his head droop towards the floor until his eyes shut and he knew no more.

* * *

Vincent opened his eyes and felt too relaxed to move. Evidently he had fallen to the ground, though didn't feel hurt. Turning his head, he saw his compatriots in similar positions, and most were attempting to get up.

"Did you rest well? Hehheh!" John asked, seemingly dancing in place. At least Lemmy's genetics had an origin it seemed. 

"Yeah..." Vincent slowly crawled back onto his feet.

"That felt like having a 15 hour power nap." said Larry, also getting up. "And I'm not going to complain about that."

"That was the best nap ever." said Mona. "Is it time for the 1 minute breakfast?"

"We can eat on the way there." said Larry. "Getting to the bottom of Genlic will take longer."

"And what's down there?" Vincent asked as he tried to get Ashley up.

"The Tomb of Koopa." said Larry. "But I have a feeling he's not really there. That's too easy."

"Then let's find out." said Vincent, and after getting the others up they all proceeded down the hall rather leisurely, most still trying to wake up. Vincent took off his pack and rummaged through his food, and ate a few slices of bread before drinking from his canteen. The others did the same, as Ashley had expected a long mission inside Genlic fighting the enemy and had packed accordingly. Larry himself stopped by his old room and picked up a few more things to eat. Eying his journal sitting on the desk, he decided to take that with him too.

At length, they reached a wall that housed several light elevators. Larry stepped inside one but nothing happened.

"Ah right." Ludwig muttered and readjusted the despellizer. "That should suffice." But Larry was already gone. Mona followed afterward along with the rest of them behind her. Vincent found his body suddenly demolecularize and shoot downwards at rapid speeds before he re-solidified again. They were in a small dark room barely lit, and everyone took out their wands to light up the area in front of them. It seemed to be some kind of storage space.

"This actually isn't it." said Larry, and he walked over to one of the sidewalls. Using his mark of Amura, he waved his hand over the wall and it suddenly parted like ice melting on a hot day, revealing a secret light elevator. "This way."

In small groups they entered the elevator that brought them much lower in the ground than before. When arriving, they found themselves in a well lit room, an orange and red ambiance permeating from crystals set upon the walls. They were upon a balcony that slowly descended itself around the room like a spiral, and at the bottom in the center of the room was a very long coffin seemingly made out of concrete and elaborately decorated with a variety of symbols and writings. Surrounding this on the walls in each cardinal direction were etched a single symbol different than the others. Pillars took up the diagonal quadrants, each with a variety of writing etched on the four sides of each. 

"This is obviously not it." said Ashley.

"You're right, this is way too easy." said Mona. "With this guy being so secretive, he probably set up a bunch of traps."

"I know its some kind of puzzle, but I never got the time to figure it out." said Larry. "I never got the time to redirect my thoughts to this room, I mean."

"Why don't we just open the coffin?" Vincent suggested, and scanned the object for any magical traps that may be on it. However, he detected a number of transparent barriers surrounding its exterior. "There are spells around this." he said. 

"This room is magically sealed from any outside influence." said Marthos. "And is indeed built like a puzzle. The barriers come from within, designed to halt any perpetrators and raiders in mind. There are many secret paths and intricate code written in lore now lost, every path designed to illustrate core truths discovered by its creator. But the sinister motive was this: that in the time one used to unravel the discoveries, that Koopa would've used to sufficiently prepare himself to meet the infiltrator. Such a "normal" route to the self proclaimed father is rather stringent on our time. Therefore..."

The hands of Marthos glowed a number of colors, and stepping forward he reached out to touch the lid of the coffin. He was met with an invisible force that jolted the ground before the magic barrier harmonized with his hands, and the lid of the coffin shifted with dust shooting in all directions. Marthos pushed the lid aside and seeing what lay within, laughed loudly.

"What is inside?" Inauro asked and everyone moved in to take a peek. Inside was no corpse, but instead in the center lay a single gold coin. Laughter erupted in the ranks of the dead.

"That is a classic trick." said Morton.

"That was the same thing I used!" Rendell Koopa claimed. "Right upon hill devornum!"

"You leave a single coin like this, he knew they were after treasure." said Alexander. "A penny for beggars?"

"Thieves are all on the search for treasure." said Morton. "But the rich life is not found in front of you, but within you. This is the lesson."

Vincent reached inside and picked up the coin, which was emblazoned with ancient symbols that he could not read. However, he didn't notice a plate underneath the coin, and it suddenly rose upward and the whole coffin began to shake. Everyone backed away and the coffin raised up off of the ground upon a long stone block that rose into the air at a great height until it revealed a cavity within. A stairwell was seen descending into darkness and the entire massif stopped at the top step. Surrounding the block were more carvings in ancient.

"Now you understand the illusion of wealth." Inauro read aloud. "But this was merely the first step. Continue forward if you dare."

Larry scratched his head. "I feel that a lot of this is beyond us."

"Be that as it may, you are the gatekeepers to an era of freedom." said Marthos. "An era that may only be brought about with the defeat of Koopa. Do not misjudge potential you have yet to discover within you."

"I keep getting manipulated, but whatever you say." said Larry.

"It would seem the despellizer has no effect upon this room then." said Ludwig. "Upon reflection, it would appear to be logical to counter a despell through a variety of mechanisms to preserve an important room such as this. Nevertheless I shall keep the device on my person in the event it may prove useful." 

"I would just keep it activated period." said Larry. "You never know when it'll be handy.

"Ready?" Vincent asked, looking behind him.

"Go for it." Larry replied, and with that Vincent began his descent down the steps followed by the others behind him.


	58. The Last Battle Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The devil has been found  
> And the created seek to destroy it  
> To create a new life beyond its ways  
> of freedom without illusions

The congregation marched down the steps into the darkness of the Earth, using wands and other sources of light to see their way forward. Aside from the rough walls and the ceiling full of stalactites above them, nothing else could be seen. But to Larry, there was something else at work. He felt his thoughts being redirected into places he did not wish to go. If he still had the Blood Wand, doubtless he wouldn't have even noticed. But even with the melding wand that he had received before his ensnarement, he was having a hard time countering Koopa's effects.

"Keep...going." said Larry. "He cannot...control us...anymore. Block with...magic."

"I have been trying!" said King John. "But my power is minute compared with our foe! Even with the magic of the Great Destroyer, matched one for one, the power is minute."

To Ludwig Von Koopa, this was very concerning. The despellizer did not seem to have any effect upon the mental intrusions they now experienced, despite being built to counter Naru magic with Naru magic. It meant that Koopa had something up his sleeve that allowed him to broadcast such a spell at very long ranges and remain unhampered by those with its same power range. What that was Ludwig did not try to guess, but for now they could only keep walking forward.

As they pressed on, they felt the air become suddenly warmer in tandem with the ground, which began to warm their feet. Around a corner a reddish glow was seen along with a visible heat flow emanating from an unknown source. At the front of the party, Vincent tried to peer around the corner and for a moment saw the redness glow brighter around a bend to the right before the heat assaulted his eyes and face, and he staggered back with a cry. "How in the...how do you get through that?" he said aloud, then immediately answered his own question. "Nevermind."

"A thermal shield will be required." Ludwig said regardless. Everyone then cast spells that created an equivolent to such, insulating them within protective bubbles not unlike Vincent's journey through the ocean earlier.

"Let's push through this." said Larry and Vincent started forward again, with the heat's effects now minimized to nothing. They rounded the bend and continued into the red heat until they turned right. They then entered a large room that was filled with the brightness of the magma that churned in the sides of the cavern below them. The radiation made it hard to see anything, but they could somewhat see their path that ran straight through the middle, flanked by lava geysers and fireballs.

"We can't let go of these spells now!" Ashley pointed out. If they now dissipated their spells, they would surely be goners in that heat.

"Have the dead take the weight." said Larry. Indeed, the dead were already casting the majority of the spells. As a failsafe, Vincent cast a protection spell around himself before he began to move forward. But the farther they moved, the more disorienting the mind control became and eventually they were forced to stop on the walkway as their barriers had begun to flux. The noise around them was now deafening with geysers going off all around them. Many of the dead began to cry out in madness, and some of the soldiers were seen jumping into the magma below trying to escape their insanity.

"We must discover a way to disengage his spell!" Ludwig shouted over the noise. "It will only exponentially become worse!"

"Have any ideas?" Larry shouted back.

"There is a working theory, to dissolve the negative upon itself." said Ludwig. “But how this could be implemented I am still not sure of."

"That's it..." It all snapped together in Vincent's mind. It was the union of opposites again. Just like how this magic tried to manipulate minds, then the opposite was true. With a few creative thoughts, he put together a melding spell using white and black magic then cast it before him. A wave suddenly rushed in from behind them, though did not physically move anyone as it passed through them before it stopped a few feet from Vincent himself. It must have been the mind control spell retracting itself. It was working! However, the wave did not move further out in front of them.

"This is melding magic, but how is this done precisely?" Ludwig asked.

"I'm making his spell eat itself." Vincent replied. "But it's too powerful to destroy. I can't push this much further back."

"Look!" Inauro pointed to the far walls of the cavern. Shrouded in heat and lava fountains were large purple crystals built into the walls. "That I am sure is one of the culprits to this problem! Men! Let us counter them with Vincent's spell!"

Inauro, reading the mind of Vincent cast a spell at one of the purple crystals, and the crystal suddenly cracked in upon itself before shattering into a million pieces into the roiling magma below. The mages of his era followed and one by one the crystals of the room shattered and destroyed themselves. Each breaking crystal sent the wave of mind magic back further and further until it disappeared from the cavern altogether. Larry breathed a sigh of relief as the intruding thoughts greatly dissipated.

"I suspect the crystals were merely amplifiers for the original spell." said Ludwig. "As I still detect its presence, albeit now at a much reduced rate."

Vincent ceased his spell, and while the wave did not return, the lingering effects over their minds could still be felt. Not wanting to stay in this place, Vincent started moving again without a word and eventually the others followed behind him, having similar reservations along with wanting to get this mission over with. Eventually they saw in the center of the room a raised circular stone platform that the path naturally reached up to. Upon its crown were a number of jewels of varying colors that were set upon a wheel that seemed to tick in place, with a glowing purple crystal stuck at the top. 

"A cyclical control pattern..." Ludwig murmured. "...Now halted in place, either due to the confinement of the wands of Koopa or from the destruction of the crystal matrix of this area. Either way, this structure may serve to be the gate to our next destination considering the arrays lined upon the inner pillars." The Koopaling pointed to white crystals that were lodged in the pillars holding up the wheel, and with that sight Vincent cast a melding spell, and a ball of black magic appeared that was then teleported by the crystals with a scrying spell on top of it. A dark cavern was seen along with some kind of door which couldn't fully be made out. "It's some kind of door." said Vincent. "I have a feeling that white magic is being blocked in that place, but black magic works fine."

"Doesn't surprise me at all." Said Larry. 

"There does not appear to be an option for the white spectrum upon this device." Ludwig commented, looking up at the wheel. "Otherwise I would consider shifting the wheel to such a location."

"Then we use mind magic against him." said Larry. "What goes around comes around."

"If he's snuffing out white magic, then this will be a hard fight." Ashley said.

"I can make a ball of white magic and try..." Vincent did so and teleported it alongside the black magic ball, but the white magic suddenly dissipated upon entering the room. "Yeah, he's blocking white magic there." He said before dispelling the black magic ball himself.

"Then this might be deadly for the Amura." Larry said. "You might be alright Vincent, but I think the rest of us in the Amura will not do well unless we get some kind of protection. Considering the dead were mostly...forced to use black magic they can probably go too."

"I do not believe that Koopa can be destroyed merely by using his prime magic spectrum." said Ludwig. "In fact it would not surprise my person if said spectrum even strengthened his core rather than its intended effect of destruction. Perhaps enshrouding ourselves within a cocoon of white magic and surrounding this with a layer of black magic will serve to confuse the enemy and allow us entry.” No one responded, as no one had ever approached the tomb of Koopa beyond the fake coffin.

“Similar to what Iggy did against Dac'Leon.” Larry noted. “It's worth a shot. Let's go for it.”

Ludwig then proceeded to cast the melding spell he had just described, and they were surrounded by a white light around their bodies with a layer of black upon this. Everyone seemed quiet.

“The fear is growing.” Larry said. “That's why we can't think very well now. Idle hands are the devil's plaything...we need to keep moving. Teleport now and don't stop for any reason.”

Vincent went first and disappeared from their view. He reappeared inside the rocky cavern and immediately the size of the door became apparent. It must have been over 100 feet tall and was carved with various pictographs, studded with large gems and housed a lost language. The fear intensified even before the others followed behind him and Vincent found himself unable to move his legs.

“My legs won't move.” Vincent said.

“Mine either.” said Ashley. “This isn't good. He's trying to paralyze us.”

“What is this?” Larry muttered.

“Behold, your creator comes before you.” came a deep booming voice. “The source of your beginning and your end. You rebel like children against the construct, my creation that I have offered you. Does one not have respect for their creator? Now kneel!”

Many of the dead were forced to do so, unable to combat Koopa's abilities, but the Koopalings resisted with their melding magic, though were continuously being forced to otherwise.

“No...” Vincent muttered aloud. “I was not born to be a slave to anyone's will, be forced to think to anyone's thoughts. Everyone has the right to free will. You had a beginning and you will have an end.”

“The one that should be dead dares to speak against one who can kill him in the blink of an eye.” Koopa said as a spell came over Vincent, but his melding wand managed to block it and with some effort, defuse it. 

“Your time is up.” said Vincent. “Your so-called entire line is here to say your time is up, the line that you say is a part of you. You hate yourself.”

“For they are not like me.” Koopa replied. “And all wish to become the one. Even now they kneel before me knowing this fact, that they are but minuscule compared to my totality. Those who do not embrace my creation are of no use to me. Behold.”

Vincent heard yelling in his mind. “Sam! Sam!” Her body had suddenly gone limp, and Elizabeth who had been giving her dinner shook her in place. Her heart was not beating.

“Is that Samantha?” Vincent said aloud. 

Ludwig did a double take. “What has occurred to my daughter?” he demanded with a building anger in his voice.

“He...killed her.” Trent's voice echoed in their minds.

“What?!”

“...Lexie just fell over too. Damnit...you...will...not...” Trent was struggling with something. “No no no! Stop it! She doesn't deserve that! Stop it!”

“Now you realize how hopeless this little battle is against me.” Koopa said mockingly. “Soon your--”

“I have had enough!” Ludwig suddenly shouted and slammed his foot on the ground. “You fiddle with our lives like disposable toys, disrespectful of the prodigy's will to what they wish, just to see your deceased dreams resurrected in mockery!”

“A reality once again made truth with your death.”

“Then attack if you dare.” Ludwig said, and held the wand in front of him. “I will see to it your legacy is wiped from the face of the Earth, every page of history annulled of your name, every statue and orifice defaced, and your tomb cleansed of your body and any spirit residing within by fire, a payment long overdue now demanded by the living.”

A deep laugh echoed through the cavern, and multiple of them winced as they came under the death spell themselves, but Vincent used his spell eater from earlier and slammed the death spell back towards the door in an attempt to open it. The gems glowed in response and a deafening bell like noise reverberated through the cavern. Wincing, Vincent sent the spell eater again but the same effect occurred. The mind magic suddenly intensified, and some of the dead were seen rising up with weapons against them.

But Ludwig laughed aloud. “It shall take more than the shadows of history to defeat me.”

“The door won't open!” said Vincent, not caring for Ludwig's theatrics.

“I have a better idea.” said Larry, finally getting the spirit to stand up. “There is only one way to do this.” Using his new melding wand, he teleported into the cavern his brother Roy with great effort, who looked confused. “Da fuck?” he said. “Is dis Koopa?”

“Excellent plan!” Ludwig exclaimed, ignoring him. “Leave the rest to my person.”

“Koopa is killing people outright!” Larry said to Roy. “They already got Sam, and Lexie...and Penny's gone. We have to kill him now.”

“Oh fuck dat!” Roy shouted. “Fuck dat shit! Let me at him! Where is he?”

“Beyond this door.” said Larry. “Just hold on a sec.”

“Hurry up! The dead are catching up!” Ashley warned them. After a moment, Ludwig cast his custom melding spell and Roy suddenly grew in size into a gargantuan figure nearly as tall as the door itself. “Heh.” His voice was almost as deep as Koopa's.

The dead began their attack and Ashley defended the group with her magic. However, this did not last long as Roy's fist came down through the air towards the attackers. All their counter-attacks were in vain as the fist punched through them as if they were mere air turbulence, and it slammed the ground sending a shockwave of rock in all directions. The others dodged or shielded themselves from the rain of rock. “No problem.” Roy bellowed and positioned himself as he were about to perform a body slam. “Let's go kill this fuck!”

“After you!” Ludwig shouted after applying anti-death magic on Roy, just in time as a wave of it came over the group again. “Fuck it! I'm going!” Roy's mass charged towards the door. Vincent let loose a melding spell full of intertwining despell magic at the door, and it was met with a wave that eminated from the door's gems and the mess became locked in a stalemate of energies.

But Roy charged forward, greatly improved by Ludwig's magic and his shoulder met the magic resistance and passed through it until he slammed into the doors. They dented inward yet held form, but the force of the blow sent cracks upward along the cavern walls up through the ceiling and rock fell all around them.

“Again!” Roy shouted, backing up.

“We can do this!” Larry shouted. Ludwig recast magic protection for Roy, but simultaneously a death spell suddenly hit Mona, forcing Larry to try to protect her. She fell over somewhat and Larry caught her mid fall, and she came to shortly after. “He really hates humans, doesn't he?” she asked.

“It's racism.” said Larry. “Not just the skin color for Koopa's, but other species, other races. It's stupid, it's fucking stupid and we're going to kill that stupidity.”

“I'm going!” Roy shouted and charged forward again. Vincent in turn released his melding spell again and Roy ran through the magical resistance and slammed his shoulder into the doors. They flew open on impact before shattering upon the walls inside before Roy fell to the ground with a thud and a rumble. Revealed within was a room with a wide stone path in the middle, about 100 feet across again, and this was flanked on both sides by two enormous pits that dropped to unknown depths. A narrow stone platform jutted out from the outer walls and encircled the room on the same level of the walkway in the middle. 

As Roy picked himself up, the others made their way into the room, where in the center they found Lemmy Koopa staring right back at them, holding the Wand of Koopa in his hand.

“Drop it!” Larry ordered, but instead Lemmy started reciting some kind of incantation.

“Screw that!” Roy lurched forward and backslapped the small Koopaling across the walkway who dropped the wand in the process. But it was too late, and at the other end of the walkway, gargantuan stone walls parted to the sides and within was a mass of gathering dark clouds with lightnings frothing within its interior. At length, a body began to materialize, a monstrous form that seemed to equal the height of Roy. Manifesting bones and flesh, it began to take on a somewhat familiar form, but it was not until the head took shape that it became apparent what the UmNaru had done. With a long mane of red hair and red eyes, it was obvious. 

“It's Bowser...” Larry muttered, now realizing that his father's body had never been retrieved after his death, and now he was paying for it. Now infused with two rows of sharp teeth and long curled horns, he had been effectively turned into a Naru at Koopa's bidding. 

Larry looked at Koopa's wand on the ground and cast a wind spell to knock it towards himself. “Have to get the---” But the wand went in the opposite direction and instead landed in Koopa's massive paw like a toothpick. “...wand.” The glowing white wand then began to transform, reconstructing itself into a more physical and longer object studded with jewels across its surface with a large, pointed red gem on its end. Koopa laughed in turn, at the thoughts who rebelled against him.

“Your rebellion will now--” He was interrupted by a fist to the face by Roy, and Koopa staggered back a bit before quickly regaining his composure and turning his wand at Roy. The others started casting a variety of spells on Koopa, including death, wind and Earth spells, but most had little effect. An earthquake spell managed to shake the area, but it did little to stop Koopa from unleashing a fire spell that came into contact with Roy's fist and it proceeded to melt away his flesh. Roy grimaced as he refused to retract, and Ludwig worked to restore Roy's fist while simultaneously wrapping around it a water magic spell that solidified the air around it into ice. Eventually the icy fist made contact with Koopa's face again, creating numerous slashes but his skin quickly regenerated and with his other fist slammed Roy in the gut sending him backwards, and he began to shrink back to his normal self. Seeing an opportunity, Vincent turned from supporting his father and instead used an air spell and sent an updraft underneath Koopa's feet, trying to launch him into the air. Marthos, seeing the youth's intent used his hammer and swung it upwards, effectively hitting Koopa from a distance and launching him towards a large stalactite in the ceiling, intending on impaling him. But Koopa merely swung his wand downwards, and a powerful blast of air hit the group sending them flying across the room and slamming against the outer wall. Roy, Ludwig, Ashley and many others fell onto the outer ledge surrounding the cavern, but Larry, Vincent, the unconscious Lemmy along with many of the dead kings were not so lucky and fell straight into the dark void with varied screams and cries. 

“...shit.” Roy muttered as Koopa landed back upon the platform with a large slam, rocking the cavern.

“My attempt to block his attack with equal strength was in vain.” said Ludwig, groaning. “He must indeed be hiding some power or technique from us.”

“This is no wand of Naru.” said Marthos, who had landed not far from Ludwig and was now examining Koopa's wand. He noticed a pair of serpents running up along the gems. “There is only one other that is like it, and the wielder is now deceased. We must make due with what is with us. I wish to fight Koopa next, as this is a battle I feel should have occurred long ago.”

“Why not all of us?” Roy asked.

“What is this wand you speak of?” Ludwig asked, but he was cut off by a fire blast that narrowly missed them, instead hitting the wall above.

“It lies within Erzembar.” Marthos replied. “We cannot retrieve it now. Let us not talk ourselves to our deaths!” Another blast shook them, and the three jumped back onto the walkway along with a number of others. Reading Ludwig's mind, Marthos grew to an enormous size along with the other two and rushed forward.

Meanwhile, Larry and the others fell through the darkness quickly passing by empty corridors that led into the abyss; it seemed the place was honeycombed with passages. Flying monsters roamed the pit and many fell into their mouths in their descent, evidently using the pit as a food source. Vincent was forced to thrust his wand downwards and shoot inside their open mouths, resulting in explosions of gore. Magic blasts came from some of the hallways, unleashed by enemies cloaked in shadows. Vincent thought about slowing himself down and landing inside of one of the passageways. “What if we slow down?” Vincent asked.

“There's too many of us!” Larry shouted at him. “We'd have to slow everyone down!” Indeed, many of the dead were with them having their own issues with the monsters. Larry spotted Lemmy near the front of the pack and coincidentally, he opened his eyes. “Why...am I falling?” he said aloud. He blinked and turned around to see himself falling towards a reddish glow below.

“Hey Lemmy!” Larry called out. “We're fighting Koopa and we fell down here! Hold on!” They began to pass lava flows that came out from the walls around them, and soon they began to encircle their potential escape routes like flowing curtains until they were completely surrounded by the deadly substance. It wasn't before long that the now lava covered walls opened around them and they could finally see the bottom of the pit: a very large pool of lava with no land in sight, with all of the walls covered with lava flowing down into it. It was a literal death trap.

“We have to do something!” Vincent shouted out. In the lava pool, a handful of creatures were seen rising to the surface: an ancient strain of Blarrg, much more gigantic than it's everyday counterpart, and it rose out of the lava head first with an open mouth, waiting for anyone to fall into its cavity.

With Larry not responding, Vincent decided to take the initiative himself. Using an idea that popped into his mind, he cast a spell with his wand and a very long layer of brick blocks manifested below them across the majority of the room, hundreds in total. It wasn't long before everyone began to land on the bricks and came to an abrupt stop. Vincent himself glided himself down with an air spell while Larry was busy helping Lemmy slow his descent until they too landed. The Blarrgs were too far underneath for them to reach up and were kept at a safe distance.

“W...why did I do all of that?” Lemmy asked as he got up.

“Don't worry about it.” said Larry. “We need to figure out how to get out of here.” The lava cavern rumbled, for many feet above them the battle turned fierce against Koopa. 

With some air magic, Valerian blasted the lava flowing on the outer walls, and as his wand moved so did the lava, taking the path of least resistance. He circled the perimeter until finding a pathway to the right, a oval hole in the rock that led downwards. 

“This way.” Valerian pointed to the path that lay below the bricks, and the others helped each other up and started towards it. Vincent summoned more brick blocks into existence that constructed themselves like a set of stairs to the path. Valerian kept the lava away from the exit as the others passed through.

“Why did I take that Earth Wand thing?” Lemmy asked. “Now everyone's going to hate me.”

“It was the Wand of Koopa.” Larry clarified. “But the other three made us all puppets regardless.”

“Ashley said there's something different about Koopa's wand.” said Vincent as he looked inside of his cousins mind for a moment, but he stopped short as they had quickly entered another cavern, this one dark with an uneven floor. They looked for an exit, but a low growl interrupted their thoughts. A pair of yellow eyes came into view, and the wall suddenly moved away from itself and walked forward. In their illuminated light, it looked like the rock was made homonoid by some unknown force.

“A rock golem.” Valerian said. It slammed the ground and let out a strange roar, and several more shadows in the back of the cavern were seen detaching themselves from the wall to join their supposed leader. 

Vincent unleashed a torrent of water magic on the group of rock golems and while they were pushed back by the current, they held fast and began to charge forward.

Hearing heavy footsteps behind him, Vincent turned and saw a familiar figure walking towards him, and recognized him as the king that nearly killed him back in the Valley of the Koopas. Vincent quickly stepped aside and the king walked past him without even a glance.

“That is the mute king.” said Valerian. “Unless my memory is corrupted by some spell. He is an ancient.”

The mute king stopped and swung his sword through the air, and a number of identical looking swords shot out from it towards the golems, and each sword sliced straight through their supposed “necks,” effectively decapitating them. All of them fell over and ceased to move afterwards.

“Well, that was easy.” Vincent commented.

“It helps to have an army of the dead with you.” said Mona. “Especially when they know stuff we forgot. But either way, I just want this to be over with.”

“Yeah, let's get out of here.” said Larry, pointing to a hole in the wall on the right side of the cavern that seemed to have been blast open in the past. It was only wide enough for one person at a time, so they exited the room single file. Many were eager to find a way to get back up to the top.

Meanwhile, the fight continued to rage in Koopa's Chamber. After a giant Roy was slammed into the outer wall, giant Ludwig moved in and he suddenly duplicated himself with one appearing behind Koopa. His duplicate self then proceeded to cast an ice spell on him which attempted to drive a sharp icicle through his body. Koopa turned to slam the copy Ludwig in the face, but the real Ludwig then sent a fist full of lightning right into Koopa's gut, shearing the flesh and destroying vital organs in the process.

“Yes, it will all be over soon.” Ludwig said sadistically, taking pleasure in his revenge. “Feels good to finally die, does it not?”

But before Ludwig could make another move, Koopa unleashed a magical projectile in both directions that acted as a bullet, and while the copy Ludwig puffed into smoke, the real Ludwig was blasted in the shoulder and sent backwards into the wall, landing not far from Roy. Koopa's wounds then seemed to heal themselves until he was restored to normal.

“You wield an unfair fight.” said a giant Marthos. Ashley took the opportunity to try to heal her uncles. “A fight against those apt to forget such knowledge. After the ban of visitation, they were wholly forgotten throughout time as their jurisdiction retracted, but even now, millenia later their control over Naru still reflects itself through you.”

“What?” Roy muttered, trying to sit up. “What's dis?” 

“This is a rare moment.” Ludwig said before groaning in his process of healing. “I am utterly clueless as to what he is speaking of.”

“Who is the one but that which controls one's thought?” Marthos asked.

“I am under the spell of no other.” Koopa retaliated. “For I am the controller of my own fate.”

“A spell cast upon yourself, or a spell cast by another.” Marthos alluded. “It matters not. The snake people, those who were called the Qeli'xua still control you even now though their legacy, as it doubtless is still upon Naru, their home world upon the next reality.”

“I have built this kingdom with my own will!” Koopa roared. “I do not need the help of the snakes!”

“Then why continue to wield their technology?” Marthos asked. “Or has your mind been lost to them?” Koopa rushed forward at that, with his wand above his shoulder as if he were to swing a golf club. Marthos in turn took his hammer and thrust it at the incoming wand, and the two met in the air and a great noise reverberated outwards. Its force cracked all the rock around them simultaneously, sending rocks and debris falling all over the room. The Koopalings tried to brace themselves from the onslaught, and the two duelists were forced to sidestep as parts of the walkway began to crumble into the chasm. Many attempted to shield themselves from the rock but were instead hit and sent into the dark as well.

From that came an onrush from other kings all at once. Alexander devised a spell where red hot swords fell from the ceiling like rain, John attempted to paralyze Koopa's head with the intent of killing him, and Cameron attempted to scorch him with fire, albeit with the koopa spectrum of magic. But none of their attempts to harm him seemed to work, as their magic either hit a barrier around the beast or dissipated before impact. Each time, Koopa responded with an attack sending them backwards or forcing them to protect themselves from instant death spells and the like. Koopa definitely had an upper hand. 

“Bowser! Bowser!” Clawdia shouted, hoping to snap her husband out of it, but the deafening noise drowned out her voice and her calls went unanswered.

Back at Erzembar, Trent Koopa was now agitated from watching his family getting smacked down by some power that shouldn't have existed on the Earth. He saw Xavier, now with a newly formed gang turning against Elizabeth as the castle turned into a ruckus of fighting, though at least it seemed that the gang would be driven out in time. Still, Trent knew that Koopa was tapping people to use for his own purposes. It was all pointless destruction for one's immature self gratification at the expense of everyone else.

He almost didn't see a blast from the side headed toward him, but managed to dodge out of the way in time. Turning, he saw it was Tyrendil, apparently revived but with a purple glow in her eyes. “Hey Vincent.” Trent called out in his mind before dodging another blast. “Vincent!”

“Wha?” Vincent's thoughts were interrupted by what he saw as an animated Tyrendil fighting Trent. “What do you want to do with her?” Trent asked.

Vincent remembered her words from the past. “Kill her.” he responded.

“Are you sure?” Trent replied.

“I know her.” said Vincent. “She would rather die than be controlled against her will. Kill her. That's what I would do.”

“...it's your choice.” Trent warned. Before Tyrendil could fire another blast, Trent unleashed a spell that inverted the black magic inherent within her into white magic, and she screamed in agony which echoed a scream from Koopa that felt the blast before he pulled away. The body of Tyrendil then fell to the ground and the heat of the white flame consumed her corpse.

Vincent sighed. “Thank you.” he said to Trent. “She is at peace.”

“Her soul left a little while ago.” Trent corrected.

“I know, but now she wont have to worry about me.” said Vincent. “What's going on up top?”

Trent turned back to Genlic. “Koopa is winning.” he said, then he noticed a party of UmNaru enter the upper reaches of the fortress. At their head was Narec Morella Koopa, who appeared to be impatient. “Where are they now?” he asked his servants.

“They are approaching the core.” one responded.

“Then the Vice may have a difficult fight on his hands.” Narec said with a hint of sarcasm. “Secure the upper levels. I will unleash the spell now.”

“Of course.” The servant walked away, and Narec waved his wand about for a few moments before a reddish light was seen crawling up the black fortress walls. Inside Koopa's chamber, the resistance froze in place as pain rippled through their bodies and they collapsed onto the floor. Koopa absorbed this power and laughed in his apparent triumph, too amused in their suffering to kill them immediately. 

Below, Vincent slowly muttered a spell before an ethereal bubble surrounded him, then expanded outward to an unknown radius. “Come on...” he called, refusing to stop.

Trent watched the spell immobilize the attack force, but watching Ludwig collapse into unconsciousness however sent Trent over the edge, and in a reckless move for himself, sent a spell to the capstone of Erzembar which began to glow with brightness. Trent looked up and his body demolecularized upwards towards the capstone, which gathered about itself a swirling complex of energies. 

“Trent is pissed...” Iggy Junior remarked, deciding to take over the controls for him.

“There is something happening at Erzembar!” one of Narec's lackey's said, noting the shining star in the distance.

“Hmm?” By the time Narec noticed, the capstone had fired a large white beam and traveled within the clouds over Genlic, and the clouds lit up in a bright radiance before numerous lightnings shot into the fortress like walls of electricity come to life. The black walls shone white as the lightning descended into the complex. All those on the upper levels cried in pain as the white lightning destroyed all the black magic within them, forcing them to the ground twitching until their life left them. Narec was not excluded, and not expecting such an attack also fell victim to the power of white magic, though a quick spell saved him from death like the others. 

But nothing could prepare him with what happened next: above him a beam shot through the ceiling and slammed the ground next to him, sending him tumbling to the side. The beam took shape and manifested itself into Trent Koopa, who looked at the stricken leader of the UmNaru with disdain.

“You try to kill our family for selfish ambitions.” Trent thought. “You have paid with your daughter's death.” 

“She was of no use to me,” Narec spat, “Beyond the use of a tool.”

“The spell of Koopa will be countered and destroyed.” Trent said. Indeed, in Koopa's chamber the white lightning feuded with Koopa's self-empowering redness, and many took advantage and began to heal with Inauro taking the lead in the next assault. 

“You cannot kill what is immortal.” Narec grinned. “Koopa cannot be killed. Bodies come and go, but he will always remain.”

“Only the creator remains.” Trent thought, but Narec suddenly shot himself forward and with his wand fired a stream of black magic directly at Trent's heart. The Koopaling winced as life drained from him, but his will refused to give up and with the assistance of time magic, slowed the black magic's progress and developed a surge of white magic that flowed through him. Overcoming the assault, Trent grabbed Narec's wand and a white fire ignited and spread into it before it exploded, sending Narec backwards with a cry. But the flame had spread to his arm and upon feeling the pain cried out as his flesh melted to the floor into a pile of organic matter.

Not giving up, Narec muttered a small chant and a black swirling cloud appeared before him and within it appeared The Vice. He said nothing, but cast a black entrapment spell on the youth, who used time magic to dodge to the side before it took affect, then launched a bolt of white magic at the Vice. He blocked the spell, then inverted it to black magic and sent it up towards the lightning storm towards the ceiling. It began to convert the lightning into black, but Trent again with time magic halted its progress and using the convergence of the spectrums formed a deadly ball of white and black magic, and launched it at the deadly duo. The lightning struck inside of the dark cloud surrounding the Vice but he suddenly disappeared: he was merely an apparition, but the attack sent Narec careening backwards into a wall before slumping to the floor. Trent moved towards him and found a gaping hole in the UmNaru's upper chest arcing with white lightning. But Narec suddenly chucked. 

“Now I understand.” he said. “Your magic index is greater than the Vice.” He chuckled again before smiling wickedly. “You will come to regret that.”

Trent thought of nothing. Narec slowly stood himself up and looked at him for a moment. “My work here is done.” he said, and he stretched out his arms before the wall behind him suddenly opened, and he fell backwards into a dark pit. 

Trent ran over and watched him fall, and it seemed in mid air Narec's body shriveled up until nothing but his bones remained, and even when he was out of sight, far below a smash was heard followed by some rattling, and then there was silence.

“What did he mean by that?” Trent wondered. But he didn't have much time to think about it as Genlic began to rumble in place. Agitated by the death of one of his top tools, Koopa in a rage sent a spell from his wand and immediately the white lightning was negated and a darkness spread through the chamber that snuffed out even their wands to that of a glowlight. Ludwig now concluded that he was dealing with a magic that seemed to influence or control that of the Naru's, and he wondered what he could do next.

“What is this stuff?” Ashley asked.

“It is as Marthos said!” Inauro shouted. “Snake magic!”

“The true source of Koopa has been revealed,” said Marthos, “Though long suspected. Come, we must band together lest the darkness swallow us all!”

With that, many of the kings stood up and began to cast spells between one another, and they formed a web of magic that began to light up the room around them, with Koopa no longer the only source of “light.”

Trent himself however saw the world outside grow dark and the sun dimmed with each passing second. Fear and hopelessness suddenly sprang up inside of him and he struggled to fight back. “This isn't Naru magic...” he thought to himself.

“Trent, you should get out of there!” came Iggy Jr.'s voice. While did not want to abandon those below, Trent knew that he had no chance against fighting this in his current state and he had to go back. Trent used his will to demolecularize and again thundered upwards, just as a flowing darkness began to ascend from the floor. A beam of light rocketed out of the clouds overhanging Genlic and shot straight back into the capstone of Erzembar, where Trent rematerialized on the floor not far from Iggy Jr. The latter rushed over and helped bring his cousin to his feet.

“The Qeli'xua...” Trent thought, trying to see if he had seen the name somewhere before.

“They seem to be another extraterrestrial race.” said Iggy Jr. “Like the Naru, but what Marthos said...” It suddenly snapped together in his mind. “I got it! The Qeli'xua are from fourth density Naru, which means their technology is probably more advanced than the Naru's themselves, who live on third density Naru. Since the Naru are always looking for power, at least from what I can see, it wouldn't be hard to give them technology and promises in exchange for their allegiance. It also means the Qeli'xua can density shift, somehow.”

“So can the Kappur.” Trent reminded him. “I need to rest...too weak.”

“They'll get you to the ward.” Iggy Jr. said, motioning to a pair of Amura ahead of them.

“Need to meditate.” Trent thought. “Look after Liz...needs help.”

“Hmm?” As the Amura took Trent in their arms, Iggy Jr. finally noticed that Elizabeth was in a feud with her older brother. “Wow, I need to work on that.” Iggy said to himself.

At Lemmy's Castle, Morton Koopa III was successfully pushing Xavier's new gang out towards the front of the castle. Elizabeth watched on, refusing to fight her brother. Unlike her cousin Vincent, she didn't have the heart to hurt family. “Do you think we can, you know, fix him?” she asked.

“I doubt it.” Morton replied. “It's not just his head that's the problem. It's in here.” He pointed at his chest.

“Orientation...” Elizabeth remembered the spiritual orientations and compared them with Xavier's past behavior. He was always a bit of a hot head, but it seemed he was more selfish than he appeared. “Then nothing at Erzembar would work.” she concluded.

“That's correct.” said Iggy Jr. “It's a spiritual problem. I think you should ban him and his gang.”

“Yeah.” Morton said before engaging another member. Elizabeth sighed and realized she couldn't let her emotions get in the way of her judgment. 

“Why does he have to do this?” Shirley asked out loud. The gang was pushed back through the entrance to the castle and those outside began to join the fray, being sick of conflict. “Hey, what are you doing?”, “Get out of here you loons!”, “We've had enough of this!” were some of the numerous cries that now surrounded the gang, who attempted to send them to the ground. “Move out!” came a shout, and the gang headed towards the northern perimeter of the camp, not afraid to bring down all those in their way.

Elizabeth appeared upon an upper balcony of Lemmy's Castle. “Xavier, you and your gang and banned from coming here again!” she shouted.

“I don't need you telling me what to do!” Xavier shouted back before running through the guards of the perimeter. “Get out of my way!” The gang followed behind, each with a portion of food stolen from the castle kitchen.

“Maybe we should get some of the guys to track them.” Morton suggested.

“Let's wait until tomorrow.” said Elizabeth. “They went into the crags, and it's not going to be easy living up there so they might come back for a raid. But if they don't, then yeah, we should go after them. When you do, please make sure Xavier is captured alive.”

“Right.” Several left them to organize a scout force. Elizabeth was sad and wondered why evil had to exist like this, but she felt motivated to root it out and destroy it. She looked towards Genlic and finally saw in her mind what had been occurring in the meantime. “Koopa made everything dark.” she thought, as the area around Genlic was not pitch black. “I can't see Ashley or Vincent.”

“We can't either.” said Iggy Jr., trying to find a way with the controls. “I've already tried firing projectiles in the white spectrum of magic frequency and there's been no effect. Everything disintegrates.”

Elizabeth saw Trent meditating in a quiet room , but decided not to ask him what was going on. She didn't like to interrupt him during meditation, especially when he was weak.

“This is definitely not the magic of Naru.” Iggy Jr. said.

“Then how can we counter it?” asked Elizabeth. That was the big question, and none there knew the answer. The hybrids within Erzembar were not allowed to interfere with the lessons of the koopa, so then what?

“I'll have some Amura check the archives about the snakes and their magic.” said Iggy Jr. “If only...”

“I'm sorry.” Elizabeth said, already knowing what he was going to say.

“I know.” Iggy Jr. said, speaking of his mother Penny Crygor. He inhaled at length. “Vincent had the right attitude. We all lost someone, but we can't let that stop us now. Let's keep going and not let Koopa break us down.”


	59. The Last Battle Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The "end of time" has been reached.

Iggy Koopa awakened. Upon seeing himself lying on no floor at all, he promptly jumped up and looked around him. Darkness surrounded him, and within it seemed to shine a number of stars all around, with some passing by quickly and spinning with their own planetary systems. “Wha?” he muttered in his stupor, the events leading to the current moment now coming back to him. “Auuugh...” Shaking his head, Iggy realized that he had come under the control of Koopa as he remembered his body moving without his consent. The result was defeat and seeming imprisonment in this place.

For one thing, Iggy knew that this wasn't real space. Otherwise, he'd be dead within seconds from suffocation and instant frostbite across his body. He was most likely caught in some type of entrapment spell of some kind. Despite his sibling's most likely objections, he was going to bust out. That thought also made him realize that he couldn't see the thoughts of anyone else.

Iggy reached into his shell, but could not find the Spirit Wand anywhere inside. Someone took it while he was unconscious. Iggy's horns were still apparent, so he remained the Spirit King. However, as the Spirit Wand granted to its user telepathic abilities, it seemed the wand was being blocked from using its magic somehow. Either way, it seemed that someone figured out how to stem Koopa's magic, which was good news. Now it was all a matter of trying to get out of here. 

Iggy reached in and pulled out his normal wand, which hadn't seen much use ever since Naru magic began to be used more often...or even when the Spirit Wand itself was acquired. Taking a gamble as to what kind of entrapment he was inside, Iggy cast a spell to try to free himself hoping it wouldn't backfire. Instead of its intended effect however, a bright flash encompassed his vision and Iggy lost himself for a moment. 

“Welcome back sir.” came a female voice. Iggy opened his eyes and found himself inside a place he hadn't seen in a long time: the headquarters for the Koopa Archeological Association (KAA), complete with the shelves of ancient artifacts. Many suddenly looked up at him from their work upon his entrance. Iggy blinked: his glasses were back and he was holding a briefcase in his left hand. He was reliving his life all over again. “Time entrapment...” Iggy said to himself.

“Excuse me?” his secretary asked. Iggy shook his head. He didn't know if this was the real timeline or not, but either way he decided to play it safe. “Um, I need to archive this.” Iggy said, speaking of the Doomsday Manuscript. “Bowser wants his grubby hands on it and I want to get this in our archives before that happens.”

“Then let's get it indexed now.” she replied and led the way towards the back of the archive. As Iggy followed, he heard gossiping from those students and volunteers that had come to work for them.

“You think the rumors are true?” Iggy overheard from one table. “That the Diary of Richard holds the truth to the royal family's origins?”

“I'm more apt to believe it as a protective against evil.” said another across from him. “Though how many spells are...” Their voices faded, but their conversation made Iggy realize that King Richard had not been amongst the dead when Vincent had created his wand. His burial place remained unknown in history, and he was one of a small number of kings that did not have a tomb in the valley.

They reached the far end of the archives where a single door was set in the middle of the wall.

“I'll guard it for you.” she offered. “I know how important these things are.”

“Thanks.” said Iggy and wasted no time in opening the door to the room. Finding the interior the same as he remembered it, he closed the door and made his way to the back where a copy machine was set up. Iggy took the manuscript out of the briefcase and promptly laid it face down on the copier. As the copier prepped itself, Iggy wondered where he could find the Diary of Richard before another bright flash emanated from the copier and he lost himself again.

Coming to, Iggy found his environment changed again; it seemed every spell upon him changed his location in time. But now the archives were replaced with black cloudy skies and sharp rock and he found himself on an embankment overlooking a muddy road. In the distance he could see fields as far as he could see, dotted with thousands of workers, with wardens slamming whips upon those out of line. It reminded him of the Dark Ages.

A caravan came up the road, giant Troopas pulling a wooden wagon flanked by an early version of Koopatrols along with a few Magikoopa's dressed in more regal robes. This was definitely the Dark Ages, and it made Iggy wonder if his thoughts were influencing his determined destinations, considering he had just been thinking about King Richard moments before. Either way, he still didn't know whether this was the real time line or one contrived by the entrapment spell.

“You there!” came a shout, interrupting his thoughts. “You dare to wander from the fields, where your only meals are given? You dare defy the lord?”

Iggy thought about his current position, and realizing what they would do he smiled. “Yes, I'm a terrible Koopa.” he responded. “Please kill me.”

“The lord may not receive you.” mocked one of the Koopatrols before chuckling to himself. One of the Magikoopa's prepared an instant death spell and Iggy thought about the last known location of Richard.

“Why have we halted?” came a voice from the interior of the wagon. A curtain pulled back and Iggy recognized the face as his great-grandfather, Cameron Koopa, minus the horns. The two looked at each other for a moment. “You dare to cast yourself as a pretender to the throne?” Cameron asked, pointing to Iggy's horns.

“Of course, I'm the King of the Spirit!” Iggy proclaimed.

“The Spirit King is a mere myth!” Cameron spat. “Magicians, kill this fool and let us be on our way, lest we be late to his majesty's banquet!” The carriage started moving again and the magician launched an instant death spell at Iggy, but as the Koopaling hoped, reality turned white again and he lost himself for a few moments.

The light faded to a reddish sunset backdropped upon a rather empty Dark Land. Iggy was in the middle of nowhere, but the sound of a dull rhythmic thumping could be heard below his feet. Looking around him, he saw that he was behind a hill and quickly climbed up to the top of it. In the distance, the source of the thumping could be seen: tens of thousands of Mushrooms marching in his direction. Iggy quickly re-hid himself, knowing where and when he now was. This was the Mushroom invasion of Dark Land, the only time in history that the normally pacifist mushrooms did such a thing. That meant his theory was correct: whenever magic was cast by him or against him, he was teleported in time to what he was thinking about.

Something was heard galloping his way, and suddenly a large giant Troopa jumped from the hill and soared above him before landing a few feet away. Riding upon it was a large horned Koopa fully plated in armor, with the rider's face unable to be seen. He unsheathed the Wand of the Earth and pointed it at Iggy. “State your intent.” he demanded. “Quickly!”

“King Richard,” Iggy began, “I am but a traveler trying to change history.” 

“For whom?” he demanded.

“For the greater good against Koopa.” Iggy replied. Richard looked at him for a moment before motioning him to get on. After doing so, they quickly took off away from the hill, heading to somewhere unknown. 

“If you know of Koopa, then you know of our peril.” said Richard. “He would have us killed for merely knowing he exists. Doubtless the Mushrooms were influenced, enticed by his whispering hands.” Taking the Earth Wand, he created a barrier around them moments before a shower of glowing blue arrows would've hit them, and instead they fell to the ground behind them. Richard then waved the wand about and a large force ripped up the landscape behind them, casting Mushrooms and Yoshi calvary into the air. 

Just as he was about to cast another spell, the Earth Wand suddenly demolecularized from his hand until it disappeared altogether. “What?” he mouthed. Iggy noted that his horns remained, but this hadn't been talked about in history and didn't quite know what was occurring. “...so be it.” Richard took out his personal wand and continued to try and slow down their pursuers. Gradually the enemy fell behind as the giant Troopa was far greater in speed than even the Yoshi's the Mushroom's rode upon.

Eventually, they approached a large square structure, upon which was the shape of a semi-circle fixed upon the top. Upon reaching the bottom steps King Richard jumped off and leaped his way up the edifice, arriving at the top in no time. Turning he caught sight of the calvary heading toward them. They were behind but it wouldn't take long for them to catch up. At length, Iggy made it to the top of the steps. “What is this?” Iggy asked.

“A gate.” said the king. “A giant's gate. There are few left now, but in this moment, it is a blessing. They must not find the refuge.” Iggy scratched his head. Richard took his own wand and it lit itself blue. In the center of the platform was a hole, and he thrust the butt end into it. Engraved lines in the rock then glowed the same color and Richard walked about looking at the floor. Occasionally, he placed his foot on a glyph and it shined brighter than the others. Iggy however had never seen such a device before and was clueless as to its operation, though he recalled stories of kings using so-called magic gates in the past. Magic...gates...

“Crap.” Iggy thought. Though the magic wasn't initially directed at him, he instantly worried that the spell would launch him somewhere else in time. Then again, merely asking Richard to see his diary now was out of the question given the circumstances. 

With another glyph pressed, the gate en massed a green energy within its center until it filled the whole semi-circle. The spell did not send Iggy anywhere in time thankfully, though knowing history wondered what he would do next.

The face of a Magikoopa appeared within the gate. “Oh, it's you.” he said with a tone of dejection.

“I presume you have abandoned your king for a puppet son.” Richard said.

“There is no king before me.” said the Magikoopa. “Only an inheritor gone astray.”

“Then so has the rest of your kind.” Richard retorted. The Magikoopa disappeared and so did the rest of the magic that powered the gate. There was a horn call and the Mushroom calvary were seen starting to close in.

“Cover me.” Richard ordered, and reinserted the wand to restart the mechanism. But Iggy was now unsure. If this was real history, then protecting him may alter it. Even then, if he cast any spells now, he might just be sent off to somewhere else. If this wasn't real time, then it didn't matter what happened to Richard, but if it was real then doing nothing may make Iggy look incompetent and a fool.

Richard took out the wand from the floor suddenly and in its place put a long glowing sword into the slot. He began to run the sword within the groves of the platform, which somehow began to light up the glyphs, but then came a shrill cry and blue arrows were loosened towards them. Iggy had no time for anything else as he cast a protection spell, and as he predicted he became encompassed within white light once more.

Iggy reappeared inside of a dark stone corridor lit with torches. A limping Richard was seen ahead of him, hit with multiple arrows. The spell didn't work, if this was real that is. As it was told in the history books, Richard was last seen walking through the magic gate wounded by arrows and his fate after was unknown. At length, Richard turned around and went wide eyed. “You...” he spat. “Abandonment of a king in his greatest need deserves death.”

“Even if I can't help it, you're right...” Iggy replied. Richard held up his hand and a black cloud engulfed Iggy until he could no longer be seen. His hand clenched and clouds did the same in mimicry, and upon dissipation Iggy had indeed seemingly vanished.

“...but it won't have any effect.” Iggy concluded, appearing behind him. Richard turned again and stared at him. “I'm fairly certain that I'm stuck in some kind of time entrapment. Every spell I perform sends me somewhere else.”

“Good...” Richard muttered, walking forward. “A punishment no doubt deserved.” Iggy said nothing and moved aside to let the wounded king pass. “I will disappear from history, and Koopa will never find me. There is no tomb of truth untouched and ruined by evil. There will be none for me.”

They walked past a set of large wooden doors into a circular room lit by candle light and emblazoned with black cloth, each presenting a red symbol in the shape of a horned head, though not quite resembling Bowser. 

“This will soon be a home to the sons of Naru.” Richard explained. “Where the leader of their society will be chosen for their ancestors arrival. By then, the line of Telxin will be properly groomed to meet them.”

“And you know this...how?” Iggy asked.

“I have seen it, and read it.” Richard said. “Written with their ink are the plans for the next seven generations, to the letter. Drawn with every king chosen by their council, I have witnessed in writing my planned downfall and death usurped by my second eldest son, Wolfgang.” He sat down and briefly cast a healing spell on himself, and the arrows in his flesh burrowed themselves out and fell onto the floor. “From Wolfgang will come the reteaching of the populace, to instill greed for wealth and fear for authority, the enemies of love. From his eldest son Cameron, now just born will come the enforcement of rigidity and dictates to instill hatred and anger, further dulling their minds. From him will come a son, the first to question the authority in place and the commoners will rally behind him, but this is a ruse, designed to uproot the hidden enemies of the king. Nevertheless, once Wolfgang is killed it is expected a revolution will take place and a grandson of Cameron will lead it. Upon his enthronement, the illusion will be set for the arrival of the Naru, the line engineered to do their bidding.”

“Wolfgang was a total ass.” Iggy blurted out.

“You have the right to say that, though he knew not what he did.” said Richard. “Much like your father Bowser.”

Iggy made a face. How...?

“I did not ask for your name, for I know who you are.” Richard revealed. “One reason why their plans faltered was of your retrieval of the Spirit Wand, but for your present time now it matters not. You have been imprisoned by Koopa's design, for a puppet that pulls its own strings serves no use, outside of forced automation. All of the kings are, by design. But the spawn of Koopa are but a reflection of his being. If he is destroyed, then as is prophesized by many, so too will his reflections, hence the end of time. Are you willing to continue?”

“It's already started.” said Iggy. “I couldn't stop unless we're all killed by him or if we all kill him first.”

“Then...” Richard stood up and reached into his shell for something. “Take a look through my diary.” he said, handing it to him. “There's a section on spells, and within that is a section on time magic, which was difficult to obtain. When you find what you desire, please return it to me.”

Iggy eagerly flipped through the pages of an artifact long sought after by archaeologists, and doubtless he would've been the envy of the modern world if it still existed. But he couldn't stay long and instead looked for the spells section. Iggy passed by a section filled with notes about the planet Naru, complete with a mapping of the planet's surface and cities. “Wish I had that...” Iggy muttered to himself. Shortly after, the spells were found which were a long list of names followed by incantations with no descriptions whatsoever. Under a section labeled “time,” he finally found what he was looking for. A strategy began to unfold in Iggy's mind as he memorized the spell. Recalling the location of the diary in the present time, he closed the diary and handed it back to Richard. “I really can't thank you enough King Richard.” said Iggy, more relaxed.

Richard nodded. “Your presence says to me my future actions will be of benefit, and so I shall pass the diary on when it is completed. However, even when the truth unfolds, I believe my help will be needed in the last battle and will make my mark when it arrives.”

“So you can time travel!” Iggy exclaimed, always wondering about the rumor.

“There are ways to see the end.” said Richard. “You will see me...soon.”

Iggy nodded, then spoke out loud the incantation he had memorized. At once reality faded to white. When he came to, the darkness of space had returned with all its stars and planets just as before. That much had worked. Now it was time to test and see if it would bust him back into reality.

Iggy said the spell again, and all at once the planets and stars faded out until there was nothing but darkness. Iggy walked forward and swerved side to side but hit no walls, so he knew he wasn't caught inside a physical space. 

“A multi-layer...” They had put multiple entrapments upon him and Iggy didn't know which ones he was dealing with precisely. It didn't matter: they needed to be broken regardless if he was going to get out of here.

Iggy took his wand and cast a spell designed to despell entrapments through force. The spell engaged then fizzled out. Nothing happened. Iggy tried a different spell to force himself out. Still, nothing happened. He then went through a whole mental list of spells designed to break entrapments in a number of ways, but nothing gave way and Iggy roared in frustration. It seemed magic spells had no effect in this place. It brought him back to the time upon Naru where he had trouble opening the cylinder to the Spirit Wand. Normal spells didn't do the trick there either.

“Naru...” Iggy muttered, and he again thought about a solution. Remembering something, he reached into his shell and pulled out the Wand of Erzembar which glowed a soft light blue. Iggy had nearly forgotten all about it, thinking it was only useful for operating the contraptions of Erzembar, but it was now known that Erzembar himself was born on Naru and, theoretically, his wand must have been made there too. The way it functioned now was probably why the others didn't bother taking it from him. However, being from Naru, it could be capable of Naru level spells.

Iggy tried to cast a Naru level despell, but again nothing happened. “That's definitely why they never took it from me.” Iggy thought as he examined the device. It had to be more than it appeared. Fiddling with it a bit, he ran his claw along one of the many engraved lines along the shaft until he reached the end, where a small click was suddenly heard. “Hmm?” Iggy froze, but when nothing else happened, decided to check out the other lines. Doing the same thing as before, Iggy found another click and held it down along with the other. Nothing happened, and Iggy looked for another secret button inside another line. A third click was found, and then the wand started to violently shake. 

“Wahhgh!” Iggy almost dropped the wand as it transformed and unfolded itself into a much larger apparatus. The rod was now black and dotted with gems seemingly placed in strategic locations around the central core, exposed as a white light (similar to its former construction) which quickly changed to green, Iggy's strongest magic spectrum. A large red gem was fixed upon its end, which also turned green. 

Iggy now grinned. This was definitely Naru magic. “Now I'm getting out of here!” he said to the darkness. “And now I can match Koopa's power.” He didn't know if he could actually beat him due to his lack of relative experience with Naru magic, but trying was better than not.

The wand suddenly turned black and so did the gem. Iggy wondered what happened for a moment and tried to think of a way to fix it, but then the wand reverted back to its green colors. Iggy, upon realizing what had happened, laughed. The wands spectrum of focus changed to whatever the wielder was thinking about!

“Oh, that's nice.” Iggy commented. “But now, the first order of business!” Iggy cast a Naru level entrapment despell in the white spectrum and the floor began to rumble beneath him. Cracks of light ran through the darkness and the sounds of multiple explosions were heard around him. Soon, the light enveloped the darkness and a large explosion sent him flying until he was knocked unconscious.

Meanwhile, a series of explosions rocked Erzembar. Trent saw in his mind a few Amura checking out the cells, and one of them was blasted to pieces. “That's Iggy's cell.” thought one of the guards. Sure enough, Iggy emerged from the rubble with a grin on his face.

“It is time to stop Koopa!” Iggy announced. “I am going to Genlic.”

Trent made a face. Didn't they search Iggy for any wands like that? If that was the Wand of Erzembar, then it was not as it appeared to be. “...then go there.” came Trent's voice at length. “Without hurting anyone in the process.”

Iggy breathed a sigh of relief as the mind control of Koopa was indeed gone, blocked by the new wand. Iggy teleported himself to the exterior of Erzembar and immediately witnessed the darkness upon the horizon, a darkness that emitted from the bowels of Genlic. But if was also in that moment that he saw the corpse of his other half lying in state surrounded by people mourning her death. Iggy stood still for a long while, the events since his imprisonment now making themselves known. Trent watched him from his seat, but Iggy's mind had blanked and he did not know what he would do. 

After a long while, Iggy jumped and soared up into the air. With a shockwave of air he blasted towards Genlic at break neck speeds, made possible by the wand. Rapidly flying by land and ocean, he noticed the darkness grow more absolute as he approached the fortress until it was entirely pitch black. Using the wand for guidance, Iggy saw that a hole had been blast open upon Genlic's upper walls and wondered if Inauro had anything to do with it. He slowed down before traveling through the hole and landed upon the floor. 

There were a few cases of supplies about and now he assumed that the fortress had been attacked by his kin in an attempt to destroy Koopa, but the surrounding darkness was not a good sign in that extent. 

The whispering of voices filled Iggy's ears then. “Spirit King...” each of them called to him. Shadows of light faded in and out. “To the top level.” they said. Iggy knew that level to be the area where the spirits of the Blood monarchs were housed, remembering seeing Larry converse with them in the past, when they were all more ignorant.

Drawing a map of Genlic inside of his mind, Iggy teleported to the room and was immediately surrounded by entities speaking a number of voices. 

“The time has come.” said one.

“Yes...the last battle.” said another.

“All fight a creator.”

“But not the creator. A creator born from the creator believes he is the creator, but only in his own reality.”

“All seek to remind him, but they are losing the battle.”

“It is because all of us must participate. Only the monarchs of the Earth are now in the last battle. We must all be let loose.”

“Yes, this one is right. To bring a conclusion to this totality, the totality itself must be unified.”

“Please Spirit King, release us.” one pleaded.

“The totality of our experiences must become whole before we can defeat Koopa.”

“What about the other Spirit Kings?” Iggy asked. “And Queens? I don't know how to free them.”

“Some of us know how to free them.” said one. 

“And you will help destroy him?” Iggy asked.

“For those still disillusioned by his false promises, we shall ensure that they are taken care of.” responded an elderly queen. “The Spirit King and Queens will stop them in the unlikely event we cannot.” 

Iggy sighed to himself. He had the Wand of Erzembar, and being of Naru magic it was doubtlessly capable of releasing said spirits against Koopa. “Then who would you answer to?” he asked.

“The Forbidden One.” one replied. Iggy nodded, he should have figured that one out. “Okay then, I'll release you.” With the wand, he shot a disintegration spell at the large globe hanging from the ceiling, which disintegrated in an instant and the Blood monarchs flowed out and manifested as transparent entities before him.

“That's it!” said Vincent's voice in his head. “That's what's missing. I'll tell them to free the spirit monarchs.”

Two of the Blood monarchs then stepped forward. Both of them, king and queen were dressed in leather and various colors of body paint, and they opened their arms with a magic accumulating between them. Below the main pyramid of Erzembar, inside of the old room that Iggy once passed through just before his initiation as Spirit King, the statues lining the pathway lit up, and their eyes shined white as a humming energy filled the room. The holographic images within the paws of each statue beamed down towards the pathway and from them other white beams spread upwards until the images became like that of their old incarnations. 

“So they were graves...” Iggy muttered.

“No, we are merely images of what we once were.” said Malytse, a spirit king who suddenly teleported into the room next to Iggy. “Not the incarnating soul, but the image of the body the soul once incarnated within. Our souls have passed on to new incarnations as you yourself know.”

“Right...” Iggy remembered his time as his old incarnation as Paradus. 

“We shall take care of those still trapped within the darkness of the UmNaru.” said Darrel, one of the Blood monarchs who freed the spirit kings and queens. “Especially those Blood monarchs who seek to manifest patterns of darkness. They will be contained. The others will travel into the chamber of Koopa. Please follow them.”

The huge group of monarchs then started to make their way through the elevators of Genlic and headed down through the floors to the bottom of the complex. Iggy merely followed with the group, a lot of things on his mind. 

“Iggy...” came a voice. Iggy turned and saw it was his beloved Penny in spirit form. Iggy frowned at the sight.

“It's okay.” she said. “What happened happened. It wasn't your fault. I want to be with you to destroy what separated us.”

“...I'm sorry I couldn't be there.” Iggy said. 

“It's not your fault.” Penny repeated. “Let's do this together.” After a moment, Iggy nodded and they set off together towards the tomb of Koopa.

 

Larry, Vincent, Lemmy and the others with them had penetrated into a vast network of caves, and the walls sparkled from pieces of bluish crystals that jutted out from them, no longer creating a need for other sources of light. They had come across a large valley under the Earth, carved by a flowing river from a source unknown. Openings to other caves were numerous in the rock and ancient pathways winded this way and that. The group all stopped at once and took in the sight.

“So, what now...” Vincent wondered aloud. “Do any of these paths head back up?”

“That noise...” Lemmy staggered a bit. “It's that noise I heard, after destroying that wand...”

“Where is it coming from?” Larry asked. Lemmy took a moment then pointed towards the largest entrance, lined with broken pillars.

“Iggy just released the Blood monarchs.” Vincent said out loud. “I think that's why we couldn't kill Koopa earlier. We need to have all of the monarchs together, not just Earth. I had two of the Blood release the Spirit monarchs and they're all on their way down now. They said hi by the way.”

“Who did?” Larry asked.

“Darrel and Pyra.” Vincent said. “They have leather clothes and wear body paint.”

“Them...” Larry nodded, never forgetting that experience. “So, they freed the spirits. Fitting. Very fitting. They are drawing the conclusion already...”

“What?” Vincent asked, not fully understanding.

“Heh. Nevermind.” said Larry. “If Lemmy says the noise is coming from that way, then that's where were going.”

“Why is the noise important?” asked Vincent.

“It was from a dream I had.” Lemmy explained. “I heard Koopa's voice with that noise.”

Vincent shrugged. 

“It is said that Koopa's soul was housed deep in the spinning Earth.” Valerian related.

“Yeah, the voice came from a spinning rock.” said Lemmy.

“Then let's go.” Larry commanded, and the group made their way down the valley to the river below. It was narrow and they crossed it with ease. Walking back up the bank, they made their way up a path and entered the cave, which was built more like a tunnel. The noise grew louder as they continued on until it reverberated through the rock itself. The sparkling crystals disappeared, and Vincent with the others lit up their wands again. It sounded like the whole Earth was on the move, or they were in some giant wheel of rock forever spinning.

At length, the tunnel terminated into a wide open space, and within the center was a large ball of rock that spun about on its own. From what could be seen, some type of matrix of lines was etched onto it connected by a number of dots, but the purpose was anyone's guess. A walkway led below the structure and appeared to go inside of it, but this path lay far below them and they stood upon the precipice of a lengthy drop-off.

“That's what I saw!” Lemmy exclaimed. “I can't believe that's real. It means Koopa's in there!”

“But Koopa is upstairs.” said Vincent.

“Bowser's corpse is upstairs.” Larry corrected. “Twisted by Koopa's magic. We don't know if Koopa is actually inside of Bowser's body or not. All I know is that all this magic being spread around the globe cannot all be done physically. There has to be a source, and this might be it.”

“Well, his voice came from there.” Lemmy said, speaking of Koopa.

“Then let's get him!” Vincent jumped off the ledge and soared downward until landing at the bottom with a slam.

“Too impulsive.” Larry muttered before jumping after him, with everyone else then following. Vincent ran into the opening, which indeed led into the inside of the spinning sphere of rock. Inside was a chamber cut into a sphere, and in the center was a strange orb filled with the light of passing stars.

“You have found the source of your so-called troubles.” The Vice appeared from behind. “But you will not find your freedom. Your freedom is an illusion, arrested to the unseen confined space rather than mere shackles of thought. Tell me, what do you hope to accomplish after your...illusory success?”

“To break the illusion that Koopa is god.” Larry responded. “He is one creator out of many others, not the only one.” 

“I am the one creator!” the voice Koopa roared, and the starry orb expanded outward until it subsumed all of reality around them. They suddenly found their feet placed upon a small rocky planet devoid of enemies and items. Above them, a star pulsated and grew larger in size before a great laughter was heard.

“I am the creator of all that you see.” said Koopa. “From every planet to every lifeform, each piece of matter first takes shape within me.”

“This is your reality.” Vincent said. “Of course you can do whatever you want in it.”

“Others do the same as you are doing right now.” said Larry. “What separates you from them is your inability to see others as co-creators like you.”

“I am the only creator!” Koopa roared.

“My point exactly.” Larry muttered. 

“With my will, I can create and destroy anything in the universe!” The rock beneath them began to squeeze itself together in jerks and jumbles, and they were not immune to the compression. Vincent felt his insides attempting to cave in upon themselves, and instead took his wand and countered the spell, sending it in reverse. An expanding wave launched outward, relieving them of the pressure and it created new planets in the process, much friendlier looking before slamming into the sun.

“Unruly creations!” exclaimed Koopa in anger.

“We are not your creations.” said Vincent. “You took us into this fake reality--”

“And you are mine!”

“You did not make us. That's like taking someone else's toy and thinking you made it.”

Koopa roared, and ahead of them they could see a number of planets heading straight towards them.

“You must really hate yourself.” said Vincent. “We can kill you and put you out of your misery if you want.”

“He will never say it, but that's exactly what he wants!” Iggy's voice suddenly thundered everywhere. The blackness of space began to crack with white light sweeping through. “Anything to restrict the green ray, the seat of love!” The false universe shined white before it exploded and they were back inside the stone sphere as before, but with the Vice immediately on their tails attempting to destroy them. Larry was the first to strike back with his melding wand, and to his surprise he wasn't crippled after the first strike. His training was paying off.

As Vincent prepared a white entrapment spell, he saw in his mind the stalemate back upstairs between Koopa's physical form and the monarchs of the Earth. Roy was heavily wounded and was in constant need of Ashley's treatment, and largely watched the battle of attrition unfold before him. Ludwig, though attempting his own spells was always thrown back to the ground and his patience was beginning to wear thin.

Suddenly, the whole Earth shook and the maniacal laughter of Iggy was heard throughout the chamber. Through the broken doorway came hundreds of Blood and Spirit monarchs throughout time in a raised epiphany of voices, and dozens of spells were already launched against the so-called father of the family. 

For the first time since the battle began, Koopa was knocked backwards and fell into the wall behind him in a heap of rubble. Iggy walked into the chamber and noted where his siblings were. “We must all unite to defeat him!” Iggy shouted. “The triad must become one.”

“You!” Koopa jumped up with the rocks on top of him exploding in every direction. “You do not deserve to wield that wand! That power will destroy those less powerful than the Naru.”

“Only if I hold onto it long enough.” said Iggy. “When the voices become too unbearable to ignore, and following the negative path, you cave into their demands with promises for power. It's a power that you rely on, without which you turn into us. Oh, the horror of that thought! Being equal to the little people. I'm taller, stronger and better than that!”

“While they're talking, the Spirit monarchs should heal the Earth monarchs.” Vincent commanded. “And the Blood monarchs should keep Koopa occupied if he attacks again.” At that, the Spirit monarchs did as they were told and Roy and Ludwig finally regained their full health among others.

“Why should I take orders from afar?” Koopa bellowed. “From those not of me? The homeland again grows distant and their squabbles fade away. Only I remain. This planet is no longer in the hands of the royal family of Naru, but in my hands. All those of my bloodline must bow before me!”

A similar control spell as before came over them, but this time it was of Qeli'xua magic and the majority, unable to face such a force were forced to bow. However, a portion of the Spirit monarchs managed to resist. 

“You teach us white wash.” said Dantek, the old Spirit King stepping forward. Iggy did a double take at the voice. “A desire unasked for. You cannot stand the sight of other gods like yourself, a creator in time. As it was said, you walk the negative path, and the negative does not see the other, only itself.” He cast a counter spell, which was strengthened by the other spirit monarchs and the entirety of the family regained their control. 

“The way to eternity lies in others.” Dantek continued. “The self achieving this alone is an illusion, the source being spiritual stagnation.” 

This angered Koopa greatly and he unleashed his control magic again, but it now had little effect after the knowledge of blocking the Queli'xua magic had spread. Working together, the Blood monarchs sought to control Koopa's movements, with each of their magical input a small contribution to the whole. Koopa felt his movement hindered and struggled to move his arms and legs. The Spirit monarchs in the meantime agreed upon a spell to use, and more or less at once cast a type of white entrapment spell upon Koopa. The spell worked, but could not close itself properly. Something stopped its completion and the spell remained in flux as both sides sought their own end result.

Iggy used the wand of Erzembar to try and reinforce the spell. After some struggle, the entrapment closed and Koopa became surrounded by white magic.

“We have him entrapped!” Iggy thought as those in Koopa's Core continued to fight the Vice. With his melding wand, Larry was for once holding his own. However, he could not gain an advantage over him and neither could Vincent even with Naru magic matching his. The Vice was an adept fighter.

“I grow tired of this.” The Vice muttered, and he chanted an incantation in some unknown language. A darkness overtook their light and Vincent felt life sucked out of him. He tried to counter it, but nothing seemed to work. “Help!” he thought as they slumped to the ground. Those outside the chamber, including Valerian and the Mute King likewise slumped over and fell to the ground. The spell had spread to Koopa's Chamber as well, and many monarchs slumped and fell over dead. Iggy blocked it with the Wand of Erzembar, but did not know how to dispell it otherwise.

“A cunning son of Naru.” Dantek commented. “But for all his knowledge he lacks the wisdom of nature. Do you think we ask for blindness?” He cast a counterspell in the Qeli'xua spectrum, and a radiating light fueled those still alive and irritated those on the path of darkness. Vincent, Larry and the others felt life return and stood back on their feet, and before the Vice could react Vincent hit him with a white fireball of the Naru spectrum. The Vice, preoccupied with his death spell was sent backwards, slamming into a wall before landing on the ground. 

“We need to destroy this thing!” Vincent shouted. But the Vice quickly got up and in a swift motion sent a wave of darkness into the starry sphere. Larry knocked him away, but the deed was done. Inside the entrapment, Koopa's body began to darken until all within was pitch black. The darkness pulsated and threatened to break the entrapment itself. 

“He is attempting to kill us all in one blast!” Darrel warned Iggy. “The entrapment must hold!”

“The only way to dissolve Koopa's link to this body is by destroying the core.” said Dantek. “I shall go.”

“The robbed Spirit King deserves the honor.” said Inauro. “But if this body is now freed, then everything is lost. There must be a way to destroy it from within.”

“Against the power of the Qeli'xua?” Marthos said. “This is the same darkness that has clouded the minds of our ancestors. To destroy this is to destroy that which the Naru have never been able to do.”

Iggy however, knew what he had to do. The pieces from his past battles with the UmNaru and his visit with the lost King Richard assembled in his mind. “Ludwig!” Iggy called out to him. “Ludwig!”

Ludwig got up, but said nothing.

“Take the Wand of Bowser and remove from it the diary of Richard.” Iggy ordered. 

Ludwig blinked, having forgotten all about it. “What could possibly be within now that could help us?” he questioned. 

“There's a section on spells.” Iggy explained. “Ancient spells. I need the spell from the section on snake magic.”

“What spell?” Ludwig asked, pressing the yellow button on the Wand of Bowser which manifested the diary in his other hand.

“You know which one.” Iggy smirked. “I'm going to do it again.”

“...preposterous. No one has survived the casting of God's Wrath twice, let alone above our native magic level.” 

“The use of Qeli'xua's magic level in the positive is a rarity upon this world,” said Xiuye, a older Spirit King, “but is also one of our best chances for success. Harnessing the power however is a difficult task. Most incarnate forms have never used it in their history as spirits, let alone learn any of the spells needed. The level of power required would break most incarnate life forms save those most disciplined towards infinite intelligence.”

“Then let us all use it together.” Iggy suggested. “We each share the spell and cast it when ready. Less intense for one, but more powerful when done by many.”

“This is a good suggestion.” said Xiuye. “I fear only those of the Spirit may be able to use this, but it shall suffice. There are still many dozens of us.”

“Uncle Ludwig.” Ashley started. “Roy's not moving.” 

Ludwig looked up from the diary. Roy was slumped against the wall with his eyes closed. Ludwig bent down and pushed his arm, but there was no response. He felt for some kind of pulse in his neck.

“If I may--”

“Let's get this done!” Iggy shouted.

Ludwig grunted, then looked at Ashley before shaking his head. He reluctantly burrowed himself into the diary looking for the spells section, trying not to let emotion take hold of him in that critical moment. However, the damage was already done, and Vincent had seen the entire thing through Ashley's eyes. 

“Dad?” He stopped mid cast, which gave the Vice an opening and managed to knock Vincent across the room and against the wall before being knocked into unconsciousness. Larry had seen his brother's death too, and after witnessing Vincent being smacked across the room did not see The Vice blast him with a black magic fireball, and it sent him to the other side of the room with a gaping hole in his shoulder. He grimaced in pain as the magic ate away the skin surrounding the wound. He felt himself grow weaker.

“Where is that little one?” The Vice muttered. “So all of you can be killed together, and this nonsense be put to an end.”

Lemmy however had disappeared during the fight, and was no longer in the Core. “Where is the one I should have executed?” The Vice hissed, growing impatient. His answer came with the sound of slow footsteps that came closer until a new figure entered the Core. It was covered with a brown cloak and its face was hooded. “Just as he said.” said an old, male voice. “The end has come. All strings must now be tied.”

“Who is this?” the Vice questioned. The figure cast back its cloak, and it revealed a somewhat crooked Koopa covered in a strange armor of unknown make. His face could not be seen, but the Vice could tell it was an older Koop.

“You should know who I am.” he said. “But like the rest of evil, you forget what you cast away. That will be your undoing.” Behind him, around a corner was Lemmy Koopa, peeking at the scene.

However, the Vice saw him and raising him up, launched him into the wall next to the Core entrance. Lemmy slid to the ground and also fell unconscious. The old Koopa responded by brandishing a long curved zweihander-like weapon, and quickly swung it towards the resurrected Naru. The Vice blocked the attack easily with his wand, but the sword then suddenly glowed gray and lightning shot forth, hitting the Vice in the chest and sending him stumbling backwards. 

As the two fought, Larry tried to heal his wound with what white magic that he knew. He managed to stop the spread of black magic across his skin and destroyed it, but closing the wound itself was another story. He covered it with the mark of Amura, and on its own it slowly began to heal the whole, regrowing bone and tissue. “Ashley.” Larry thought, seeing her slumped over Roy. “Do not turn your back on the living. Yes, this is the end, and we all expected to die. We all expected to die during the pole shift. But don't forget those that are still alive. Your brother will survive this.”

“I will too.” Ashley said, suddenly finding determination. “We are casting a spell called God's Wrath soon.”

“What? Who?” Larry demanded.

“All the Spirit monarchs.” she responded. 

“Down here? The fortress will implode!” Larry exclaimed. “What are they thinking?”

“..you're injured. We have Koopa inside a white entrapment, but something is drawing black magic inside of it. We think it's snake magic.”

“It must have been The Vice.” said Larry. “We're trying to fight him now...” The old Koopa was still holding his own against the Vice, who was having a hard time getting rid of him.

“Well do something!” said Ashley. “It can explode at any moment, and we'll all be dead!”

Larry huffed. The wound had mostly closed, but the healing was not complete. He looked over at Vincent, who was on the ground laying still, but an exhale confirmed he was still alive. His double ended wand of black and white magic lay in the middle of the entrance to the chamber. Larry got an idea, but would only have one shot to try it.

Meanwhile, Ludwig had found the spell inside Richard's diary, much to his own surprise and showed the Qeli'xua level God's Wrath spell to Iggy. The younger one merely laughed for a moment, wondering if he could ever possibly survive something like that on his own, but with dozens of others it became less of a danger. 

“All the kids should go to the front of the chamber.” Iggy instructed, motioning towards the broken doors. “If anything happens, you guys are the first to escape. Trent, if you're listening, get ready to pick up a lot of people.”

“I'm on it.” Trent replied. The Spirit Kings and Queens began to recite the heightened Gods Wrath spell all in synchronous with Iggy following along with the group. The ground started to slowly rumble from the power already being drawn in, and in time the monarchs began to glow white from the feet on upwards through their bodies. The Earth monarchs stood ready to strike upon the body of Koopa after the destruction of the darkness.

“You will now feel the wrath of those wounded, and the liberation of that greater power that triumphs over fear!” Iggy shouted, his whole body now covered in light just like that time back at Erzembar, but now he was joined by many others in similar state and without warning they launched their pent up power at the beast. The combined energy broke the white entrapment and for a moment the darkness expanded outwards, but quickly retracted as God's Wrath quickly ate away the evil within. Koopa roared in shock as a million bolts from heaven hit his body. The evil quickly left, though the body somehow did not crumble and decay as any body saturated in evil would normally under such power. 

Down below, the Vice became paralyzed as the energy of God's Wrath poured through the Earth, giving the old Koop an opportunity to swing his sword straight at him. It cut through his abdomen like a knife through butter, as if his opponent was just that easy all along. 

“I am the forgotten King.” he said. “The one you left behind centuries ago.”

“Then,” The Vice gasped on the ground, somehow still alive. “Take care of the world.” The rays from God's Wrath burned his body away until nothing but his skeleton remained, and even then that slowly melted away.

Seeing what was occurring, Larry felt a new source of strength well up in him, and he stood up and thrust the white end of Vincent's wand straight into the starry sphere. Immediately the sphere rippled and the wand shook in place as the sphere glowed brightly for a moment before it suddenly exploded, sending Larry flying back through the entrance and landing within the hallway. The sound of crumbling rock was heard all around him, and cracks appeared in every wall as the Earth rumbled beneath. He quickly got back to his feet and looked about him. The noise had awakened Lemmy and he suddenly went wide-eyed at the site. “Woah! What's happening?!” he exclaimed, getting up.

“I need to get Vincent, and we need to bail out of here!” Larry shouted over the noise. He headed back within the interior and found Vincent already becoming covered with debris. He picked him up and wrapped him around his shoulder, trying to drag him out. “Hey! Trent!” Larry thought. “We need a pick up!”

“In a moment.” Trent called back. “There's a lot happening up top too.” Indeed, with the destruction of the Core of Koopa, the body of Bowser had been slain by the Earth monarchs and many hacked the dead corpse in their vengeance. Clawdia cried out against them in vain, though now the rest were becoming aware of the collapsing chamber. 

“Ashley, please evacuate immediately!” Ludwig ordered. Ashley stood in shock at all that had happened in such a short amount of time, but Mona, who had been merely the audience in the fight, finally sprang to action and picked her girl up on her way out of the chamber. The other Koopalings rushed towards the entrance, but Iggy stopped to look at Roy which he now realized had passed many minutes ago. But there was no time to try to revive him now. It was too late, and with nothing else to do but shake his head, Iggy then darted after the rest. The dead however did not follow them and Iggy again stopped and turned for a moment, watching them stand in place.

“Our purpose is complete.” said one Earth King. Iggy nodded, remembering that they had been resurrected for this purpose: to kill Koopa and free their bodies from universal bondage to his will. Again, Iggy darted off after the others, who had already warped back into the lava chamber preceding the Chamber of Koopa, complete with heat shields. The lava was swaying back and forth and boulders were falling in every which direction.

“What about Larry?” Iggy called out.

“I think Trent got them!” Ashley shouted back. The walls of the chamber quickly started to crumble and they wasted no time running into the exit, hoping to reach the fortress above as soon as possible. But what they couldn't see was precisely that: above the surface, the implosion of the Core of Koopa had sent ricochets through the underlying rock and the foundations of Genlic were starting to cave into the ground, as if a giant sinkhole had formed beneath the complex. Inside of the dark cave after the lava chamber, Ludwig quickly noted the collapsing ceiling and quickly put the pieces together. “The entirety of Genlic is imploding towards us!” he shouted. “We must teleport now or be buried!”

“This is the worst place and the worst time to try and teleport!” Iggy shouted back, speaking of the lack of concentration and utter chaos abundant around them, not to mention being underground. “But we have no choice! It's that or death! To Erzembar!” Iggy immediately started focusing on the Erzembar complex and hoped his concentration would be enough for the spell to work. Ludwig himself did the same, almost used to the chaos that he had been surrounded with since the battle began. There was a white flash, and the ceiling crumbled and destroyed the hallway that existed in place mere moments ago. The Eternal Fortress Genlic, once a marker of the first landing place of Koopa, was now being swallowed into the Earth, and the ocean gleefully filled in the voids left behind as the “unbreakable” finally met its fate. When the collapse finally ceased, only a circular rock remained jutting above the waves, the center now filled with the sea, covering a history now lost in mystery.


	60. Epilogue

Vincent opened his eyes. He stood within a foggy gloom and could not tell where he was. He looked down and to his surprise found himself naked. “This isn't real...” he said aloud with a puzzled expression. “Or is it?”

Looking up, he found another face looking at him from a distance, somewhat obscured by the fog. Recognizing it as Maynard's, Vincent waved nonchalantly at him and he did the same. Other faces appeared around them and Vincent recognized them all as his cousins. Their bodies could hardly be seen in the fog, but from what Vincent could tell, they were all naked. “This is a little awkward...” he thought. What were they doing here?

“Each of you must now make the choice.” came a voice, sounding alien in origin. “What will it be?”

Choice?

“You have already made yours, Vincent.” the voice said.

“Yeah.” he replied, though did not know why he said that. The others stood silent, lost in their own thoughts. It felt like the choice had been known to them for sometime, but now it actually came to a head.

“I'll do it.” Maynard responded.

Shirley shook her head. “I can't.” she said, and a moment later she disappeared entirely.

“I need to think about it some more.” said Ashley. “I'm not sure if its the right thing to do.” After a moment she too disappeared.

“I'm up for it.” said Iggy Jr. “It's right up my alley, well, given what I do.”

Vincent nodded, and during a moment of silence he noticed that Xavier was missing. What happened to him?

“Maybe if it was the ultimate expression of the creator.” said Trent. “If not, then I have to refuse. I don't think I'm ready for it anyways.”

“This can be arranged.” the voice said.

“But would that really be natural?” Trent asked.

“Often, the decision to meet is made before the actual meeting.” the voice alluded.

Trent nodded, now understanding. “Then I shall do what the creator desires.” he said. “Which is yes, no and maybe.”

“It is possible.” the voice said. Trent nodded but said nothing else.

“Yeah, I'll do it.” said Elizabeth, smiling. “It's the future after all.”

“Not for me.” said Morton III. “Not right now. Too busy.” 

“I want to still learn about it.” said Geo, Larry's second son.

“Then it is so.” said the voice. “We will process your requests.” The scene faded until Vincent saw darkness and knew nothing else.

* * *

  
_Many Years Later_   


Within a vast tropical savannah lay the remains of a broken green pipe, its top now lying upon the ground. Iggy Koopa Junior, now a young adult noticed a shimmer coming from within the grass. Curiosity taking hold, he stooped over and rummaged through the thick growth until a metallic artifact was seen half buried in the dirt. Picking it up, he stood straight and examined the writing upon it. “Toad?” he muttered to himself. Who would name somebody that?

“Language structure indicates origins within the Mushroom inhabitants previously in this region.” said a hybrid that warped in a moment ago behind him.

“Our research indicates this location as the exact spot where Iggy Koopa Sr. first received the Doomsday Manuscript.” thought another hybrid that warped in. “This pipe was not indexed because it was broken during the shift. Regardless it should head directly to what was termed then as Bowser's Castle, although the route is severed in several places.”

“Please pardon the intrusion.” thought a third hybrid. “The ceremony is about to begin.”

Iggy nodded. For some reason, he had been trying to avoid it, despite his duty to attend.

“I will continue the indexing here.” said the second hybrid. “This is an important event for your family.”

“It is...thank you.” Iggy replied, not as talkative as he usually was. It's been a while since they were all gathered in one spot.

Using a device unrelated to magic, Iggy was teleported to the front entrance to Erzembar where a large number of hybrids were seen walking down several paths to a large gathering in the distance. The subsumation had made much progress as the number of native Koopa upon the world dwindled through the years. Soon, his kind would wind up in the halls of museums and within the historical records, a chapter of history now closing. 

Iggy looked up at the very large holograms in the front of the courtyard depicting his father speaking on some subject of reincarnation, running about and posing with his mother. Since their deaths many years ago, they had been honored for their good deeds done in life, though his more sinister acts did not go unnoticed and many in the hybrid community felt animosity towards him. It was perhaps one reason why he felt repelled from what was about to happen, but he needed to attend regardless. Everyone expected him to.

Iggy teleported again and found himself in the rear of a large gathering with chairs placed upon a low floating platform over the desert sands. Many were already seated and thinking with each other, the space otherwise relatively calm. A path split the audience down the middle and Iggy walked down upon it towards the front, more solemn now after seeing what lay ahead of him. At the front was a stage upon which sat a few of his appointed cousins: Trent, Vincent and Elizabeth Koopa. Below them, halfway between the stage and the audience lay Lemmy Koopa in state, having passed away a few nights ago. The news had spread like wildfire and every area of the globe seemed present then as he was well liked by most. Thousands had already shown up, and now it was only a matter of the extended family to arrive before the ceremony would begin.

“Do you think he'll show up today?” came a thought, and a flash was seen before it took the shape of a grown Morton Koopa III, who donned a sleek space suit.

“He has to.” thought Iggy. “It would be a disgrace if he didn't. He should have made up his mind about this years ago, but he's still indecisive.”

“I think he'll do it.” Morton responded as they walked to the front. “He's getting old now and needs to give us the reigns sooner or later.” He looked around. “It seems the saurians have warmed up to us pretty fast.”

“I was about to say,” Iggy began, “that the saurians showed up only two days after that agreement was signed. You did a good job back on their planet.”

Morton held up his hands. “Hey, that's my job! Third one this year too.”

“Because you don't have kids to take care of.” Iggy said, motioning to his wife and three children in the front row, all hybrids. “That number would drop to around one...I'm sure there's a ratio for that, depending on a number of factors involved.”

“Are we ready?” his wife asked. The hybrids did not give themselves names unlike their predecessors, being able to identify each other by their thoughts, but Iggy still gave them names for his own generations sake.

“We're still waiting for a few more, mostly the coordinators.” Iggy said to “Eliza,” the name he gave to her.

“We should be able to do this all at once.” Iggy's son and youngest child said, whom he called “Ezra.”

“The Koopa's acted independently of the mass consciousness.” Iggy explained to him. “Partly because most were not natively telepathic and could not consciously read each other, and partly because they were designed for 3rd density and were determining their spiritual orientation choice. They were more self absorbed as a result.”

“It's still inefficient.” Ezra said, crossing his arms. “These events should be synchronized and decided before the event actually happens. It reduces chance of error.”

“There he goes again.” said Georgia Koopa, Vincent's oldest daughter and child who leaned over in her seat to him. “We were just thinking about this 4 days ago. Our ancestors weren't built like that. So what can you do instead?”

Ezra, who was only a little older than 10, thought to himself for a moment. “Tell him to do it in advance and show him how much time we all save?”

“Be patient.” said Georgia. “It's a good time to learn to be patient with older people, and other species that may not be as intelligent. They still have a heart too, which is what's really important.”

“I know...” Ezra muttered, then fell silent. Iggy looked about him and saw that most of the family had arrived. Maynard Koopa and his hybrid wife were sitting on the other end with their three children. Geo was sitting close by, fiddling with a holocomputer for his latest work on Koopa history before the passing of Naru. Next to them were Vincent's two daughters, with their mother absent as she was expecting their next three children any day now. Iggy recalled that the “litter rate” with the hybrids was about two to five, a decrease from his forefather's expected five to twelve. Next to them was his own family, and at the other end was Elizabeth's hybrid husband and their seven children, all unnamed. They tried to gain their mother's attention as she sat on top of the stage, succeeding a handful of times. Shirley was with them, chatting with a number of the youth.

Iggy sat down next to his wife, more calm now that he saw Ashley making her way up from the control center of Erzembar. A moment later and she appeared on stage and sat down between Trent and Vincent. “He will be here in a moment.” she thought. Vincent nodded.

Literally a moment later, and a flash was seen in the back of the audience. From it appeared a much older Larry Koopa, with wrinkled scales and arced back testimony to his age, but he was still hale and his mind still sharp. Most of the hybrids present turned towards him at his arrival. It was something he had gotten used to at events like these.

The head of the family walked to the front as everyone watched his every move. To Larry, it had been a long time coming. They had been the last two left for many years and Lemmy was the elder, despite Larry's alcoholism in his early years shortening his longevity, at least in his mind. The clown prince seemed to hide a fountain of youth within him until his face wrinkled within the past two years until he finally departed. Even looking upon it now reminded him of their beginnings, within the happiness of ignorance, back before Naru was not even known. It was as if the script had all been written ahead of time, already decided upon yet mortals knew it not, stuck inside each moment with no vision of the whole. 

“I told you I'd win.” Larry said to the corpse, referencing a bet they made earlier. “Only because no one koops Larry Koopa, but keep the change. I got something to give you.” Reaching into his shell, Larry pulled out what appeared to be a deflated rubber ball and placed it on Lemmy's chest. “You never asked me about it, and its odd because you used it all the time, even in the later years in private...heh, but that told me you had grown up into yourself. Now that your circle of time has closed, all that you did and had comes back to you and is made known to everyone else. I saw it with Iggy, I saw it with Ludwig and now I see it here. The plan made bare, you could say. Ah well, I should saw a few words to them. I'm the last one now.”

Larry walked around and climbed up a set of stairs to the stage, where those sitting acknowledged him with their thoughts. Responding in like kind, Larry made a wave to Ashley before turning to the audience. 

“I guess I already started, for most are mind readers now,” Larry began, his voice individually translated for every being present, Earthborn and non-Earthborn. “But I will be speaking in my native tongue which is what Lemmy expected. It is phasing out across the world now, just like the rest of the third density like props and actors.”

Larry looked at the people below. “Lemmy never wanted anyone to cry at his funeral, he said that many times...always wanted to see them laugh instead. 'Everyone should be laughing at mine, but they'll probably cry instead.' I remember him saying. He never liked to see people be sad, so if you want to really honor him, then don't be so sad. Something hard to ask for, sure...but that would make him glad.

“We are just physical bodies after all, the tools for spirit incarnate. Doubtless now Lemmy's spirit awaits judgment whether he will walk again on this planet or join the majority of those who have gone before him. Even if he does not return here again, the experiences he left behind can not die with him, as they live on in our hearts forever along with all the lessons he brought to the table, which were many. He was perhaps the most progressive out of us, the original Koopalings, asking to relieve draconic laws set by Bowser's service to self administration and he faced a lot of oppression for that...especially his fight to legalize medicinal plants, standing up to unfair justice and trying to promote the ideology that people should do and believe what they desire.”

“But...if you were to ask me what his biggest contributions were, I'd tell you two things. One, laying the foundation of what would become the civilization that we now enjoy today. With his castle, he invited much of the survivors of the pole shift into his area and with the castle's council created the first post-anarchic government not ruled by one person, but by a group that represented the interests of the people without all the bureaucracy of the old world. In fact, with their “Keep it simple” philosophy, bureaucracy was banned outright, cutting down the lines that once separated the citizen from the elected. This decentralized government spread across the globe which later led to the integration of our successors, whom we called the hybrids. From this, our progeny built upon this, such as Iggy Junior who contributed architectural innovations and economic developments for rebuilding a new civilization, or Morton III who remains a leader in foreign relations with other races on other planets, or Elizabeth who continues to develop Lemmy's vision of decentralized governance as the head of the world council, or Trent who works to bring the realizations and integration of the workings of spirit in the physical world, or everyone else who gives their contribution to this new society. Lemmy made this new future possible and we have worked to perfect it and see it grow.”

Larry paused for a moment. “For the old world, moments like these are given to applause, a more physical recognition of acceptance. It's amazing how rapid culture can change, though it seems the silence is not how it sounds. Applause is replaced with thoughts of admiration and respect which is just as well.” He nodded, feeling this with his limited telepathic abilities.

“The second thing is the concealing of the Wand of Koopa from not only the UmNaru who tried to take it, but from the greatest enemy we had to face in our time. The UmNaru were mere puppets to Koopa, who did not reclaim his wand until the Last Battle began. We still wonder why Koopa did not merely take the wand earlier if he was able to later control Lemmy with it, but as several of us pointed out in council debates, Koopa desired control and structure, and to control Lemmy then was to destroy what structure he had built, not to mention Koopa's overconfidence of controlling the monarchs through his wands now long destroyed. Koopa never desired to expose his identity to the majority as well, preferring to use subtle techniques of control, and neither did Lemmy like talking about the Wand of Koopa except when necessary. Regardless, keeping the most powerful wand at the time a secret led us to greater chances of survival I believe. If the UmNaru had obtained the wand, then their magic would have been much more terrible than we experienced. Fortunately, we did not have to experience the full brunt of any worse possibility. We've been lucky really.

“Because of said luck, our family has managed to survive. Though it does not mean as much now, the royal family is considered to be the direct descendants of Koopa himself, who was a giant from Naru. This stigma of giants ruling over the smaller folk happened, directly or indirectly for millenia until it faded into a genetic whisper, an unseen force that shaped society which the UmNaru used to craft the so-called perfect civilization under my father Bowser. But with the fading of the Koopa race, this paradigm is now obsolete. One blood does not rule over a perceived inferior. All are now equal because the spirit and its growth are now considered more important.”

“Lemmy was the last King of the Earth. As we all know, after the Last Battle the system of monarchs was abolished in favor of a system where worth is proven with action rather than blind privilege and empty words. There are now mostly councils instead of individual leaders to support growth in service to others rather than emphasize singular individuality in service to self. Unity instead of separation. Lemmy really pioneered that way of thinking and look what it resulted in. Instead of arbitrary leadership, it has resulted in positions taken by those proven beforehand and based on concrete solutions.”

Larry turned behind him. “Some good examples are behind me. Vincent is now the Commander of the defense forces charged with defending this planet against service to self threat, a position not lightly given as the hybrids and the Kappur in general have far more experience in that area. But as it was said in the past, it's the soul experience that matters and he demonstrated this time and time again in battles with other species over the years. Elizabeth as I mentioned is the chair of the world council after it was proven she facilitated the unification of cultures and increased problem solving efficiency. That's not to say that the roles of others in the family are minuscule in comparison. It is often the background roles that can see a project through to completion. This is what my own children have adopted, and a few of my grandchildren as well.” Larry paused and stared at the setting sun in front of him for a moment. He sighed. “It's been a long journey. Years of growth, of pain and hardship, of loves and enemies. Some souls made it to see glimpses of the new world, others were not ready to see that yet. And yet what we went through is what makes us grow. Ludwig himself admitted that before he passed away. Many of us realized we are not our physical bodies, but souls experiencing another incarnation. Trent can explain the specifics better than I, but as we all had a beginning, we must all have an end.

“Speaking of which, I want to use this as an opportunity to say a few more things. I've been Patriarch for...I don't know how many decades now, and ever since Mona left us things seem to be getting more and more difficult for me. Perhaps its my age, despite what my child at heart tells me, heh. But I came back to reality and now know that the family needs a strong yet wise caretaker to guide them. Unfortunately, I seem to have the curse of Augustus Koopa: every potential I pick either refuses or something happens to them. However...for the Matriarch, the choice is now clear to me. She has demonstrated incredible generosity to us and is very much in the know when it comes to our everyday plans. You all know who I'm thinking of, but congratulations Georgia, you're the new Matriarch.”

Georgia had already went wide-eyed just at Larry's thought alone, though she had known that Larry considered her a contender before. “Does he just do that at the last second?” Georgia thought, knowing that Larry hadn't thought of her up until now. “You're just trying to surprise me.” she chuckled.

“It's how the old announcements worked.” said Larry. “Minds couldn't be read too well back then, so a culture of suspense developed until the person was revealed. I tried to keep that going, but it seems you guys guessed it anyways.”

“And you're thinking about the Nexus right now as well.” said Georgia as a matter of fact. 

Larry huffed. “I am getting old. That's the other position we saved because it kept its purpose throughout the Transformation: keeping people together and working to see commonality in problems and finding solutions to all. Lemmy was the last Nexus so I've been thinking about a replacement for him too...you know who you are.”

A good majority turned to Iggy Junior then who scratched his chin and thought to himself. “Sort of.” he muttered.

“How many things do you do at the same time?” Georgia asked. “Cause its a lot, and a ton of people go through you already.”

“Yeah, it's just the workload.” Iggy replied. “And I'm not Lemmy. His cloudy shoes don't fit me.”

“You don't fill another's shoes.” said Larry. “You make your own shoes. His shoes are just an example of what you can do.”

“Then it's settled.” said Iggy. “It was already going in that direction anyway. Well then.” He shrugged, not able to handle the stage very well. “Thanks everyone.”

“It doesn't hurt to appreciate things every now and then, you know.” Eliza told him. Iggy nodded and smiled. That was true enough. Out of all the new buildings and towns that he helped build along with the technology he helped pioneer, it was good to step back once in a while and admire what's been accomplished. Most of all, he appreciated the fact that instead of being surrounded by darkness, he was now surrounded by a world of love.

* * *

  
_Some months later_   


Trent leaned back in the seat of Erzembar and smiled at the synchronicity of his happiness reflected throughout much of the globe above him, depicting the events of millions of souls as he could see them. She had finally arrived into his life, a long dream sought for now being fulfilled, but seemingly in exchange for the life of Uncle Larry who was cremated only a few days ago. It was only perspective of course, but the possibility was still there.

“And the old world is finally over with.” said Ashley who was seated next to him.

“If anyone wants to learn what happened, they can check the holograph museum of that era.” said Trent. “The minds of Iggy and Ludwig were uploaded into the database as well, and we're working on extracting what's inside of Larry's brain before that is cremated as well.”

Ashley was silent for a moment. “Do you think we could've done better?” she asked.

“In theory, yes.” Trent thought. “In practice, I'm not so sure. We all feel that we can do better...but the idea is not enough. The will, the strength, the soul is needed to carry that out and certain circumstances can prevent that where it would otherwise manifest with little issue. What happened happened. We can learn from our mistakes and move forward, reacting and choosing differently the next time. In any case, we should live for the now with a focus on tomorrow instead of lamenting about the past.”

Ashley nodded. “Sometimes I still wish the impossible were possible.”

Trent turned towards her. “Nothing could've happened between you two. Despite the love that is there, it must be treated as platonic only.”

Ashley shook her head but said nothing.

“One day you will realize that offspring must be more than recycled genetics. Nature seeks variety.”

“Kind of like Morton.” said Ashley.

“He is a different story.” said Trent. “The point is that when you start looking past what the animal tells you, then you are on the path to discovering what you really are.”

“Remember what the spirit wants.” Ashley murmured. In a way, she knew that she needed to grow up and live out her life, and not worry over her self so much. That's what everyone else was doing. Maybe it was her father's death that shook her up and made her look for more than a replacement. Regardless, her father's chapter in life had closed and a new chapter was opening up in their life, one taking them beyond the boundaries of the physical life and beyond former intellectual limitations, and even beyond their own planet.

Ashley leaned back in her seat and sighed. “The struggle was worth it.”

* * *

_Thank you for reading Super Mario Apocalypse! This story is rather lengthy and I appreciate you reading this far. This story was a way for me to channel my beliefs and observations into a written expression during a time when said beliefs were largely not accepted by most people. However, as more begin to realize the reality in which they live and many conspiracies turn into fact, the story began to lose its purpose. To be honest, I've been looking forward to its end as I've been growing as an individual and wish to pursue more mature, original works. Its been fun, but it is time to be more grown up, if only a little bit. When you got so many things going on in the world (collapsing economy, riots, climate change, etc.) one's got to prioritize not only their time better, but also their sanity better._

_There are probably many questions that were left unanswered, such as the relationship dynamics of the second generation of Koopalings, what happened to Kylie, how did Xavier die and so on. Truth of the matter is that due to what is going on in the world, I've been losing motivation to write the story for the past few chapters and have become focused on more important things. That could be taken as a sign of laziness and to some degree this is true, though I should mention that the lack of names for the hybrids was 100% intentional. They do not have names unless the older generations give it to them, aka Georgia and Ezra. Names are an identifier to associate thought to an entity, useful for those beings who do not have telepathy. But for those that do, then individuals can be linked merely by their thoughts and emotions and names become unnecessary._

_There were some parts that were never published, but were counted as scrap. These can be found in the scrapbook here on my deviantArt account. Some scraps were intended to be published with the main work but were not included typically due to space constraints or story flow issues. This is especially true with Ludwig's journey into the UmNaru homeland in Chapter 26, which was written out but not included with the main chapter._

_Otherwise, I will leave the rest to your imagination. If you do want to know something that might be a plot hole or was left unexplained, then feel free to send a message. Thank you for reading and may the winds guide you!_


End file.
